Senator Burr's shameful stonewalling
Published March 13, 2014
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, March 11, 2014.
There has never been an African-American judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and for some reason Senator Richard Burr seems intent on keeping it that way.
President Obama has nominated federal prosecutor Jennifer May-Parker to fill a vacancy on the court. She would be the first African-American and the second woman ever to serve on the Eastern District bench but she has yet to receive a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee because Burr refuses to allow it.
Senate tradition requires both Senators from the home state of a nominee to sign off on a hearing by returning something called a blue slip to the chair of Judiciary Committee. President Obama nominated May-Parker 264 days ago and since then Burr has declined to turn in his blue slip and let the nomination proceed.
And it’s not because there are questions about May-Parker’s qualifications or that she is an especially controversial pick for the court. Burr knows that because he himself endorsed May-Parker for the job in a letter to President Obama on July 21, 2009.
Now he is holding up the nomination of a person he himself encouraged the President to nominate. Burr’s office won’t respond to questions about his stonewalling, saying the Senator does not talk about judicial nominations.
One of Burr’s constituents wrote him a letter a few months ago to try to get some answers and received this reply.
“Throughout my time in the United States Senate I have worked to address the long-standing (sic) vacancy in the Eastern District of North Carolina. In July 2009, I provided a list of recommendations to President Obama with candidates who could fill this position, along with recommendations for other judicial vacancies in North Carolina. While it is my policy not to publicly discuss conversations I have had with the White House regarding these recommendations, I am committed to seeing that our judicial vacancies are filled with qualified judges.”
Got that? Burr is citing the letter he wrote to the President endorsing May-Parker for the court in reply to a question about why he is holding up a hearing on the nomination of May-Parker for the court.
And it’s not like the court is running smoothly while Burr stonewalls. The seat in the Eastern District has been vacant since December 2005, making it the longest federal district court vacancy in the country.
Sharon McCloskey with NC Policy Watch reported last fall that in the last seven years the district’s caseload grew so much that it took longer for a civil case to move from filing through trial than in any other district in the country except one in California.
And Burr and Senator Kay Hagan have signed off on other federal court nominations. Judges in the Middle District in Greensboro and the Western District in Asheville were given hearings and confirmed in the last few years.
But May-Parker is forced to wait because Senator Burr won’t allow her nomination to proceed and refuses to explain why.
The federal system of justice and the people in Eastern North Carolina deserve better than this.
Senator Burr needs to stop stonewalling and let the nomination proceed.
March 13, 2014 at 10:57 am
Norm Kelly says:
So do we now determine whether someone should be placed in a judicial position because they are either black or female? Is this the biggest determining factor? Should it be a factor at all? Only if you are a lib. It seems that race is THE MAJOR factor in determining anything these days. If you are a lib anyway.
So, am I to draw the conclusion that because Burr hasn't allowed this to come to a vote that Burr is a racist? I thought the Demons controlled the Senate and all the committees. If the Demons control the Senate, how is it that Burr has prevented this nomination from coming to a vote? After all, the Demon party has shown they will simply change the rules if they can't get cooperation or capitulation from the 'other side' of the aisle.
This position has been vacant since 2005. Obama nominated this person less than 1 YEAR AGO! So Obama sat on this position his ENTIRE FIRST TERM, without action. So Obama does NOTHING for over 4 years, and Burr gets dinged by libs for not moving on the nomination? If Obama, the holy, anointed one, can delay acting on this opening for 4 years, why the pressure from libs on Burr to act within 1 year? Were libs like Chris complaining about Obama when he delayed filling this position for 4 YEARS? Or are libs only complaining now because Burr is being a racist? What was the holy one's excuse for delaying 4 years? Or does it not matter that he delayed 4 years because he also is a lib?
Is this another example of the ugly head of double standards? Or is it yet another attempt to suggest that some Republican, ANY Republican, is a racist. Using this method, libs want to then define ALL Republicans as racist. If Burr really is a racist, then why would he suggest this nominee in the first place? Perhaps Burr is holding out as a way to negotiate on something else? Isn't this a viable, reasonable tactic on the part of Burr? Isn't this what some demons did during the socialized medicine debate several years ago? These demons held out against this stupid, failure of a plan until the party leaders, including the socialist in charge, agreed to buy them off. Once the deals in the dark were done, these demons happily voted to force socialized medicine down our throats. So why is it different for Burr? Because he's NOT a lib! Obviously.
The alternative to Burr allowing the nomination to proceed is that the holy one, the one above all others, the one above the law, could rescind this nomination and make a DIFFERENT nomination. This could all be done in the dark, just like other deals orchestrated by libs, between his holiness, the faultless one, and Burr. The nameless one could make a deal with Burr that Burr would agree to the next nominee if his high holiness would deal on something else. Could this be a possibility? Of course, but no lib wants to admit this. And no one with the ability to think would believe that the holy one would ever talk to a Republican, let alone negotiate with a Republican. He has a phone, but he refuses to use it to talk with ANY Republican. Just look at his record and you'll know the truth. Unless you are a lib. Then the only thing you see is racism.
March 13, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Bill Morris says:
Any Democrat forfeits the use of the word "stonewall" until the Obama Administration stops stonewalling the IRS, NSA, James Rosen, and any number of other "phony" scandals that occurred before the last election. At least make an effort to be a news organization.
