Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005 9:17 p.m. EDT
Hillary to Vote 'No' to Roberts
New York's two Democratic U.S. senators said Thursday they are opposed to Judge John Roberts becoming the Supreme Court's chief justice and said he has not adequately outlined his views of important issues, such as civil rights.
Sen. Charles Schumer was one of only five members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against Roberts' nomination; the vote was 13-5. Schumer told the committee that he felt there was a "reasonable danger" Roberts will turn out like conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
"The risk that he might be a Thomas and the lack of any reassurance that he won't _ particularly in light of this president's professed desire to nominate people in that mold _ is just not good enough," Schumer said. "The court's balance may for decades be tipped radically in one direction."
"Because of that risk and its enormous consequences for generations of Americans, I cannot vote yes," Schumer said. "I must reluctantly cast my vote against confirmation."
Sen. Hillary Clinton said she will vote against Roberts' nomination when it goes to the full Senate next week.
"The Constitution commands that the Senate provide meaningful advice and consent to the president on judicial nominations, and I have an obligation to my constituents to make sure that I cast my vote for chief justice of the United States for someone I am convinced will be steadfast in protecting fundamental women's rights, civil rights, privacy rights, and who will respect the appropriate separation of powers among the three branches," Clinton said in a statement. "I believe the record on these matters has been left unclear. That uncertainly means as a matter of conscience I cannot vote to confirm despite Judge Roberts' long history of public service."
Clinton said she expected Roberts to be confirmed and hoped her concerns were unfounded.
Schumer, in his remarks to the committee, said he was disappointed that Roberts did not answer many questions during his nomination hearings on his judicial record or views on certain issues. The senator added that he was troubled by the "eerie parallels" between Roberts' comments and Thomas' testimony at his nomination hearings.
"The echoes of then-Judge Thomas' empty reassurances that he was a mainstream jurist are ringing in the ears of every senator who listened to many nearly identical statements from Judge Roberts last week," Schumer said. "At the hearings, I gave Judge Roberts every opportunity to distance himself from Justice Thomas' most extreme views. He refused."
Schumer did credit Roberts with being quite skilled at deflecting tough questions, so much so that "everyone seemed to emerge from the hearing with a different view of what he actually said."
"People might recall that Judge Roberts mentioned at the hearing that his favorite movies were `Doctor Zhivago' and `North by Northwest,"' Schumer said. "But perhaps the most relevant movie to this hearing is `Rashomon,' where four people saw the exact same crime and each had a totally different view of what had happened."
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