GOP Senators Lay into Liu

From the National Law Journal:

In what has become the most contentious lower-court nomination of the Obama presidency, Republican senators on Friday picked apart the academic writings and public statements of law professor Goodwin Liu, nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Liu faces the possibility of united GOP opposition after receiving intense criticism and little sympathy from Republicans during more than three hours of testimony. While he is likely to win the backing of the Senate Judiciary Committee within weeks, possibly along partisan lines, the ideological division could force a showdown in the Senate over a potential filibuster. That might happen at the same time the Senate is considering a successor to Justice John Paul Stevens.

During his confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Liu faced skeptical questioning about whether he supports racial quotas, whether the Constitution guarantees access to welfare, and whether the 10th Amendment is a dead letter. In each of those cases, he answered no.