McCain on Southwick
By Curt Levey Posted in Southwick — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Sen. John McCain wrote to Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy today asking that he “provide Judge Southwick, a courageous Iraq war veteran and dedicated public servant, fair consideration and a vote to move his nomination to the floor of the Senate.” Given Sen. McCain’s status as a war hero, presidential candidate, and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, this letter is an important development in the fight to get Judge Southwick confirmed.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time one of the Republican presidential candidates has addressed the Southwick nomination. I hope more of them will do so in the near future. Democratic contender Barack Obama is already on record as opposing Southwick’s confirmation.
The full text of McCain’s letter is below the fold.
UPDATE (Aug. 1): I didn’t have to wait long to have my hopes fulfilled. Thanks to Andrew Hyman for reporting on the pro-Southwick statements made by Fred Thompson and the Giuliani campaign late today.
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August 1, 2007
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Leahy:
I understand that tomorrow the Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. I am writing to ask that you provide Judge Southwick, a courageous Iraq war veteran and dedicated public servant, fair consideration and a vote to move his nomination to the floor of the Senate. As you know, in 2006, the Committee voted unanimously for Judge Southwick’s nomination to the district court, and it is my hope that tomorrow the Committee will again report out this nominee.
Judge Southwick has distinguished himself as a state appellate court judge, a law professor, an attorney in private practice and as a senior Justice Department official. Most impressive to me however, and most revealing of his character, is Judge Southwick’s military service. In 1992, almost 20 years after graduating from law school, Judge Southwick interrupted his successful career as an attorney in private practice and obtained an age waiver to join the United States Army Reserves Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Ten years later, at age 53, Judge Southwick volunteered to transfer to the 155th Brigade Combat team of the Mississippi National Guard, a line combat unit that was deployed to Iraq in 2005. Judge Southwick’s decision to join the Army is a model of self-sacrifice, and his actions helped to provide equal justice not only to American soldiers but also to the numerous Iraqi civilians whose cases he heard while stationed in Iraq.
Due to Judge Southwick’s outstanding credentials and service to his country, I was disappointed to learn that this honorable veteran was not provided a vote on his nomination sooner. Even more disappointing to me is that some members of the Senate have made unsubstantiated statements concerning Judge Southwick’s character. While it is appropriate to question and debate a nominee’s qualifications, it is not appropriate to besmirch a nominee’s character, or slander his name.
Allowing a nomination to languish is not fair to any nominee, but it has been particularly unfair to Judge Southwick who honorably served his country. For this reason, I am pleased that you have scheduled a vote tomorrow, and I hope that you and your colleagues will vote to send the nomination to the floor of the United States Senate where Judge Southwick can be granted an up or down vote on his nomination for this judicial vacancy.
Sincerely,
John McCain
cc:
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Senator Herb Kohl
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Russell D. Feingold
Senator Charles E. Schumer
Senator Richard J. Durbin
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Senator Orrin G. Hatch
Senator Charles E. Grassley
Senator Jon Kyl
Senator Jeff Sessions
Senator Lindsey Graham
Senator John Cornyn
Senator Sam Brownback
Senator Tom Coburn
Good for McCain
by AndrewHyman
I think it's a genuine, non-theatrical letter. Probably won't do any good, but it's nice to see where people stand. Just like it will be nice to have the Judiciary Committee go on record tomorrow.
Re: Good for McCain
by Curt Levey
Yes, it would be nice to force the Democrats on the committee to go on record, but it’s unlikely there will be a vote tomorrow. And, if there is one, I don’t think we’ll like the result.
Curt
by BoBo
Why don't you think there is going to be a vote? Are the Republicans going to refuse to attend?
1. Today is August 1st; the Senate will adjourn by August 3rd(2 days from now at the latest).
2. If (and that's a big IF) Southwick is voted on by the SJC tomorrow, his nomination will lose by 1 vote.
3. There is absolutely, positively NO WAY the full Senate will vote on Southwick before adjournment.
4. Virtually everyone in the country will forget (if they ever knew about) the Southwick nomination during the 5 week August recess.
5. Neither Elrod nor any other CCA nominee will have been voted favorably by the SJC and put on the Executive Calendar during June and July (61 days).
6. It has been 82 days and counting since the last CCA confirmation.
7. The Dem-Libs have declared Total War on judicial nominations for the rest of the Bush Presidency.
This whole Senate performance being commented on here is pure political theater for idiots. I choose not to play the idiot.