The other day, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to be the next Justice of the Supreme Court, filling the seat previously held by the late Antonin Scalia. In the midst of a whirlwind beginning to President Trump’s presidency, the pick of Gorsuch has been one of his least controversial moves. Nonetheless, the man is clearly a menace in waiting.
We’ve learned that political activism is a must in this day and age. No longer can we sit back and passively allow the powers that be to run the world.
To that end, this is not the first time Mr. Gorsuch has been appointed to the Federal Judiciary. In 2006, then-President George W. Bush nominated Mr. Gorsuch to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (basically, Denver and other mountain areas). That Judicial Seat was one of incredible importance. It was a lifetime appointment and Federal Courts of Appeals are the second to last step for civil liberties, before the United States Supreme Court. His nomination required confirmation by the Senate, exactly the same as is required of his nomination to the Supreme Court.
It would be a dereliction of duties for those Senators serving in 2006 to not do an in depth investigation into Mr. Gorsuch’s character and fitness for the post. I would not impugn their credibility and as such believe they did, in fact, do such an investigation before casting their votes in support or opposition to Mr. Gorsuch.
The following is a list of United States Senators who voted to confirm Mr. Gorsuch to one of the most powerful judicial positions in all of America.
Senators Who Voted to Confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Federal Judiciary:
- D Daniel Akaka HI
- R Lamar Alexander TN
- R Wayne Allard CO
- R George Allen VA
- D Max Baucus MT
- D Evan Bayh IN
- R Bob Bennett UT
-
D Joe Biden DE
- D Jeff Bingaman NM
- R Kit Bond MO
- D Barbara Boxer CA
- R Sam Brownback KS
- R Jim Bunning KY
- R Conrad Burns MT
- R Richard Burr NC
-
D Robert Byrd WV
- D Maria Cantwell WA
- D Tom Carper DE
- R Lincoln Chafee RI
- R Saxby Chambliss GA
-
D Hillary Clinton NY
- R Tom Coburn OK
- R Thad Cochran MS
- R Norm Coleman MN
- R Susan Collins ME
- D Kent Conrad ND
- R John Cornyn TX
- D Jon Corzine NJ
- R Larry Craig ID
- R Mike Crapo ID
- D Mark Dayton MN
- R Jim DeMint SC
- R Mike DeWine OH
- D Chris Dodd CT
- R Liddy Dole NC
- R Pete Domenici NM
- D Byron Dorgan ND
- D Dick Durbin IL
- R John Ensign NV
- R Mike Enzi WY
- D Russ Feingold WI
-
D Dianne Feinstein CA
- R Bill Frist TN
- R Lindsey Graham SC
- R Chuck Grassley IA
- R Judd Gregg NH
- R Chuck Hagel NE
- D Tom Harkin IA
- R Orrin Hatch UT
- R Kay Bailey Hutchison TX
- R James Inhofe OK
- D Daniel Inouye HI
- R Johnny Isakson GA
- D James Jeffords VT
- D Tim Johnson SD
-
D Edward “Ted” Kennedy MA
-
D John Kerry MA
- D Herb Kohl WI
- R Jon Kyl AZ
- D Mary Landrieu LA
- D Frank Lautenberg NJ
- D Patrick Leahy VT
- D Carl Levin MI
-
D Joseph Lieberman CT
- D Blanche Lincoln AR
- R Trent Lott MS
- R Richard Lugar IN
- R Mel Martinez FL
- R John McCain AZ
- R Mitch McConnell KY
- D Robert Menéndez NJ
- D Barbara Mikulski MD
- R Lisa Murkowski AK
- D Patty Murray WA
- D Bill Nelson FL
- D Ben Nelson NE
-
D Barack Obama IL
- D Mark Pryor AR
- D Jack Reed RI
-
D Harry Reid NV
- R Pat Roberts KS
- D Jay Rockefeller WV
- D Kenneth Salazar CO
- R Rick Santorum PA
- D Paul Sarbanes MD
-
D Chuck Schumer NY
- R Jeff Sessions AL
- R Richard Shelby AL
- R Gordon Smith OR
- R Olympia Snowe ME
- R Arlen Specter PA
- D Debbie Stabenow MI
- R Ted Stevens AK
- R John Sununu NH
- R Jim Talent MO
- R Craig Thomas WY
- R John Thune SD
- R David Vitter LA
- R George Voinovich OH
- R John Warner VA
- D Ron Wyden OR
Judge Gorsuch was not only confirmed unanimously, he was confirmed by what’s known as a voice vote. A voice vote is, in the estimable words of Wikipedia (I don’t feel like writing it myself):
… are [votes] for which “a strong or even overwhelming majority favors one side,” or even unanimous consent. This is because after the chair announces what he believes to be the result of a voice vote, any member can request a division of the assembly (a rising vote, where each sides rise in turn to be counted), and one-fifth of members can demand a recorded vote on any question.[4]
The people who found Judge Gorsuch fit to fill one of the most powerful positions in America include: the last President of the United States, the last Vice President, two individuals who ran for President (both, coincidentally, also served as Secretary of State), a man who ran for Vice President of the United States, Senate Minority Leader, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Majority Leader and Bob Dole’s wife.
For shame.
