GOP blocks Obama administration judicial nominee  (Dallas Morning News, 05/19/11)
Matthew Huisman: "Sens. Cornyn and Hutchison made the argument six years ago that under the Constitution, judicial nominees must get an up-or-down vote. On that basis, they denounced the Democrats' use of filibusters to block judicial nominees -- the same tactic Republicans employed with Liu. Read their comments in an earlier post. [link]"

In disheartening display, Senate blocks Goodwin Liu vote (Washington Monthly, 05/19/11)
Steve Benen: As of two weeks ago, it seemed as if the chamber had finally turned a corner on dealing with judicial nominees. We finally saw a Republican contingent willing to give jurists an up-or-down vote, even if they intended to vote against the nomination, suggesting some sanity had returned to the chamber. It didn’t last.... how many GOP senators were willing to give this nominee an up-or-down vote? Just one: Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski."

Grassley: Nominee Liu has 'Communist' China worldview (Daily Kos, 05/19/11)
Joan McCarter: "an op-ed written six years ago in which Liu made the rather obvious point that conservative interest groups talk about "free enterprise," "private ownership of property," and "limited government" as "code words for an ideological agenda hostile to environmental, workplace, and consumer protections." That, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says, means that the Asian-American Liu is basically a Communist, in the Chinese vein, of course."

Confirm Goodwin Liu  (Salt Lake Tribune [UT] , 05/19/11)
Opinion by Audrey Barron: "I am surprised to read news accounts of Republican threats to filibuster Liu’s nomination. Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch have both previously stated that they oppose the use of a filibuster for judicial nominees. I call on Hatch and Lee to stand by their word and to vote for cloture on this outstanding nominee."

Federal Judgeships: Active Scholars Need Not Apply? (American Constitution Society Blog, 05/19/11)
Adam Winkler, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law: "The message for law professors from these examples is clear: if you want to become a judge one day, don’t write too much, write on non-controversial topics, and watch what you say at speaking events. The world is watching."

Sen. Grassley Accuses Asian-American Judicial Nominee Of Holding ‘Communist’ Chinese Worldview  (Think Progress, 05/19/11)
Ian Millhiser: "Six years ago, Ninth Circuit judicial nominee Goodwin Liu published an op-ed in which he made the utterly banal point that a conservative interest group used the terms “free enterprise,”‘ “private ownership of property,” and “limited government” as “code words for an ideological agenda hostile to environmental, workplace, and consumer protections.” In a speech on the Senate floor yesterday, however, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) somehow managed to interpret this op-ed as proof that Liu wants to turn America into “Communist-run China” ... Grassley’s rant against Liu — a widely-respected law professor at the University of California Berkeley — is just the latest example of the GOP’s increasingly bizarre attacks on this outstandingly qualified nominee. ... As Liu explains, his own commitment to American law stems from his experience as the child of Taiwanese immigrants who “came from a society that did not, at the time, know many of the freedoms that we take for granted in America.” "

Republican Senators Filibuster Liu Nomination and Try to Explain Why (American Constitution Society Blog, 05/19/11)
"ACS Executive Director Caroline Fredrickson scored Republicans for their delaying tactics, saying “Those senators who voted against cloture are ushering in an era of unprecedented obstructionism, and threaten to bring our system of justice to a grinding halt.” ACS Board Chair Geoffrey R. Stone also weighed in, saying “Since President Obama took office, some Republican senators have made an art of delaying votes on qualified nominees who have broad bipartisan support, thus threatening the capacity and integrity of our system of justice.”"

After Calling Judicial Filibusters Unconstitutional, Republican Senators Line Up Behind Judicial Filibuster  (Think Progress, 05/19/11)
Ian Millhiser: "Many Republicans outright declared judicial filibusters to be unconstitutional. Here is a representative sample of how current GOP senators felt about such filibusters when a Republican was in the White House" [quoting Senators]

Judicial Vacancies: An Unspoken Crisis (Open Salon , 05/19/11)
Mark Wilson: "And so it looks like another vacancy goes unfilled as Republicans block qualified nominees, hoping to stall just long enough until they get their shot at the presidency, during which time they’ll hopefully be able to get some bright, young Robert Borks into the judiciary."

Goodwin Liu Nomination Looks Endangered, With Cloture Vote Today (Firedoglake, 05/19/11)
David Dayen: trying to force Republicans to be as good as their past statements about filibustering judicial nominations.[quotations] Unfortunately, consistency isn’t the Republicans’ strong suit. Graham, Isakson and McCain – and in all likelihood, Kyl, Hatch, Sessions and the other Judiciary Republicans as well – will vote against cloture today."

Editorial: 9th Circuit nominee Goodwin Liu deserves a vote; Goodwin Liu's nomination has unfairly languished for more than a year. The U.S. Senate should give him a straight up-or-down vote. (Los Angeles Times, 05/19/11)
"Republicans — and Democrats — inclined to oppose Liu's nomination are free to vote against it. But they would do an injustice to Liu and the Senate by refusing to allow his nomination to come to a vote. The Senate should make such a vote possible — and then approve Liu."

Berkeley Law Faculty Responds to Goodwin Liu Filibuster  (Confirm Goodwin Liu blog, 05/19/11)
Jonathan Singer: "Conservative and moderate Berkeley Law scholars alike described Professor Liu's writings as mainstream. In fact, not a single legal scholar suggested otherwise since he was first nominated on February 24, 2010. Constitutional law professor Jesse Choper said this case 'is a sharply disturbing illustration of the politicization of the judicial confirmation process.'"

WSJ Suggests GOP Should Filibuster Obama Nominee Goodwin Liu But Ignores Bipartisan Support For Him (Media Matters for America, 05/19/11)
"[A]s Media Matters has noted [link], Liu has a large number of conservative and Republican supporters, including former Bush Justice Department official John Yoo and law professor Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer during the Bush administration."

Confirming Goodwin Liu (Daily Kos, 05/18/11)
Adam B: "That's why tomorrow's cloture vote on Goodwin Liu's nomination to the 9th Circuit matters so much -- both because of Liu's own sterling credentials and remarkable potential, but also to give the President confidence to nominate ten more like him soon....At a minimum, Goodwin Liu deserves the same up-or-down vote that any judicial nominee not presenting "extraordinary circumstances" warrants. But if you don't believe me, ask Ken Starr, who wrote Sen. Leahy to say that “Goodwin Liu is a person of great intellect, accomplishment, and integrity, and he is exceptionally well-qualified to serve on the court of appeals.”"

NRO's Whelan Advocates Filibustering Judicial Nominee Liu Because Such Filibusters Are "A Bad Practice" (Media Matters for America, 05/18/11)
Adam Shah: "In a blog post yesterday, Whelan argued that filibustering judicial nominations is "a bad practice," but that this is precisely why Senate Republicans should filibuster the nomination of Goodwin Liu to be an appellate judge.... By the way, Liu has been the subject of a concerted smear campaign by Whelan and others. And Senate Republicans are considering a filibuster of Liu even though many of the people leading the charge have argued -- unlike Whelan -- that filibusters are unconstitutional."