COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE
1920 L Street, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
CONTACT: Curt Levey, (202) 270-7748,

Study: On Judges,
Red State Dems Lean Far Left

Southwick Vote is a Key Test

WASHINGTON, DC - With an eye to the pivotal role of the Senate’s 14 red state Democrats in the imminent vote on Fifth Circuit nominee Judge Leslie Southwick, the Committee for Justice (CFJ) has analyzed the voting patterns of the 14 senators regarding judicial nominations. The analysis, released today, scores each Democratic senator from a red state based on the 26 most important votes on President Bush’s judicial nominees. A detailed scorecard is provided below.

“The cloture vote on Iraq War veteran Leslie Southwick is this year’s first big test of where senators stand on the judges issue,” said CFJ executive director Curt Levey. “While it’s no secret that the Senate’s most liberal Democrats have made a habit of obstructing the President’s finest judicial nominees, the records of red state Democrats on the issue are less well known. We think their constituents deserve to know if their votes on judges in Washington match their conservative rhetoric back home. So we looked at the 26 key votes that best indicate whether a senator is generally supportive of the President’s judicial nominees or, instead, tends to side with the liberal Democrats who have used an ideological litmus test to politicize and obstruct the confirmation of judges.”

“The results were disappointing,” said Levey. “It turns out that 12 of the 14 red state Democrats typically side with the obstructionists in blocking the President’s judicial nominees. In fact, six of the 14 have records that are barely distinguishable from the Senate’s leading liberals. When it comes to judges, most of the red state Democrats appear to be listening to Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and left wing special interest groups, rather than the people they represent back home.”

“The worst red state offenders are Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) and Evan Bayh (IN),” explained Levey. “Their records of obstruction make even Chuck Schumer of New York look reasonable. Only slightly better are red state Democrats Max Baucus (MT), John Rockefeller (WV), Tim Johnson (SD), and Byron Dorgan (ND). Another six red state senators – Mary Landrieu (LA), Mark Pryor (AK), Blanche Lincoln (AK), Bill Nelson (FL), Robert Byrd (WV), and Kent Conrad (ND) – are in the obstructionist camp about two-thirds of the time. Which leaves only Ken Salazar (CO) and especially Ben Nelson (NE) as admirable exceptions to red state Democrats’ abysmal record on judges.”

“The good news is that the upcoming vote on Judge Southwick offers these wayward red state senators a second chance on an issue that’s important to many red state voters. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate to their constituents that they favor judges who will interpret rather than rewrite the Constitution,” noted Mr. Levey. “Many of the people they represent are concerned about the erosion of traditional values in the face of judicial activism. I urge those constituents to pick up the phone this week and remind their senators of the importance of putting constitutionalist judges like Leslie Southwick on the federal courts.”

“Five of the wayward senators – Landrieu, Pryor, Johnson, Baucus, and Rockefeller – are facing an election next year,” Levey added. “If I were up for re-election in a red state, I wouldn’t want to go home for the Thanksgiving recess next month and have to explain to my constituents why I teamed up with Ted Kennedy to shoot down an Iraq War veteran.”

The Committee for Justice is a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to promoting constitutionalist judicial nominees and the rule of law.

How Red are Red State Democrats When it Comes to Judges?

By John Kalinger,
Research Director,
The Committee for Justice

Red State Democrats

Below is a list of red state Democrats who have served in the U.S. Senate since at least 2004, with the year they are up for re-election in parentheses.  A red state Democrat is defined here as a Democratic senator who represents a state that George W. Bush won twice.

Arkansas       Blanche Lincoln (‘10), Mark Pryor (’08)

Colorado:        Ken Salazar (’10)

Florida:           Bill Nelson (’12)

Indiana:           Evan Bayh (’10)

Louisiana:       Mary Landrieu (’08)

Montana:        Max Baucus (’08)

Nebraska:       Ben Nelson (’12)

Nevada:          Harry Reid (’10)

North Dakota: Kent Conrad (’12), Byron Dorgan (’10)

South Dakota: Tim Johnson (’08)

West Virginia: Robert Byrd (’12), John Rockefeller (’08)

 

 

Scorecard

 

Our scorecard is based on the 26 most important confirmation and cloture votes on the President’s judicial nominees since the beginning of the 108^th Congresses in 2003 (see below for a list of the votes).¹  The score for each red state Democrat indicates how often he or she voted for confirmation of a nominee or for cloture necessary to hold a confirmation vote.  Scores for four senators from solidly blue states are included for comparison purposes. Votes in which a senator did not participate are not counted.  Here are the results, ranked by percentage: 

 

Senator                       State                           Score  

Hillary Clinton            New York                    0.0%  (0/26)

Ted Kennedy              Massachusetts              0.0%  (0/26)

Evan Bayh                  Indiana                         3.8%  (1/26)

Harry Reid                 Nevada                        3.8%  (1/26)

Patrick Leahy             Vermont                       3.8%  (1/26)

Chuck Schumer          New York                    7.7%  (2/26)

Max Baucus               Montana                       15.4%  (4/26)

John Rockefeller       West Virginia                16.7%  (4/24)

Byron Dorgan            North Dakota               19.2%  (5/26)

Tim Johnson               South Dakota               19.2%  (5/26)

Kent Conrad               North Dakota               33.3%  (8/24)

Mark Pryor                Arkansas                      34.6%  (9/26)

Blanche Lincoln         Arkansas                      34.6%  (9/26)

Bill Nelson                  Florida                         34.8%  (8/23)

Mary Landrieu           Louisiana                      38.5%  (10/26)

Robert Byrd               West Virginia                38.5%  (10/26)

Ken Salazar ²              Colorado                      50.0%  (5/10)

Ben Nelson                 Nebraska                     92.0%  (23/25)

 

¹ Where there were more than two cloture votes on the same nominee, only the first and last votes are used.

² Ken Salazar did not serve in the 108^th Congress and, therefore, has substantially fewer votes than his colleagues.

 

 

Red State Democrats’ Votes on Judicial Nominees ³   

 

1. Miguel A. Estrada, D.C. Cir. – Cloture Motion, 03/13/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

2. Priscilla Richman Owen, 5^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 5/1/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

3. Miguel A. Estrada, D.C. Cir. – Cloture Motion, 7/30/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

4. Charles W. Pickering, 5^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 10/30/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     No Vote           Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

5. William H. Pryor, 11^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 11/6/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

6. Carolyn B. Kuhl, 9^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 11/14/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     No Vote

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

7. Janice R. Brown, D.C. Cir. – Cloture Motion, 11/14/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     No Vote          

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

8. Priscilla Richman Owen, 5^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 11/14/03:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     No Vote

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

9. Diane S. Sykes, 7^th Cir. - Confirmation, 6/24/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Yea

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Yea                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Yea                 

 

10. J. Leon Holmes, E.D. Arkansas - Confirmation, 7/6/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

11. William Gerry Myers III, 9^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 7/20/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

12. Henry W. Saad, 6^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 7/22/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Nay                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

13. Richard A. Griffin, 6^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 7/22/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

14. David W. McKeague, 6^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 7/22/04:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                 

 

15. Priscilla Richman Owen, 5^th Cir. – Confirmation, 5/25/05:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Nay                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Nay

 

16. Janice R. Brown, D.C. Cir. – Cloture Motion, 6/7/05:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Yea

 

17. Janice R. Brown, D.C. Cir. – Confirmation, 6/8/05:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Nay

 

18. William H. Pryor, 11^th Cir. – Cloture Motion, 6/8/05:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Yea

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Yea

 

19. William H. Pryor, 11^th Cir. - Confirmation, 6/9/05:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Nay

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Yea

 

20. Thomas B. Griffith, D.C. Cir. - Confirmation, 6/14/05:

                        Baucus             Yea                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Nay                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Yea                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Yea

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Nay

 

21. John G. Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court – Confirmation, 9/29/2005:

                        Baucus             Yea                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Yea                  Johnson            Yea

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Yea                  Salazar             Yea

 

22. Samuel A. Alito, U.S. Supreme Court – Cloture Motion, 1/30/06:

                        Baucus             Yea                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea

                        Dorgan             Yea                  Johnson            Yea

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Yea                  Salazar             Yea

 

23. Samuel A. Alito, U.S. Supreme Court - Confirmation, 1/31/06:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             Yea     

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Yea

                        Landrieu           Nay                  Lincoln             Nay

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Nay

                        Pryor                Nay                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       Nay                  Salazar             Nay

 

24. Brett M. Kavanaugh, D.C. Cir. – Cloture Motion, 5/25/06:

                        Baucus             Nay                  Bayh                Nay

                        Byrd                 Yea                  Conrad             No Vote

                        Dorgan             Nay                  Johnson            Nay

                        Landrieu           Yea                  Lincoln             Yea

                        Nelson (NE)     Yea                  Nelson (FL)     Yea

                        Pryor                Yea                  Reid                 Nay

                        Rockefeller       No Vote           Salazar             No Vote

 

25. Brett M. Kavanaugh, D.C. Cir. -