AdvanceUSA
attended a press conference yesterday on Capitol Hill to show support for the
embattled nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick for the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals. Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Orin Hatch (R-UT) led
the event which was well attended by conservative activists, concerned
citizens, and members of the media.
UPDATE: Click here to view a video clip of the press conference.
Sen.
Specter kicks off the press conference advocating the speedy approval of Judge
Southwick with many concerned citizen-activists gathered in support.
Judge
Leslie Southwick served honorably in the National Guard, going out of his way
to seek deployment in
Iraq
despite being over 50 years old.
Sen.
Hatch also spoke in support of Southwick mentioning the unanimous opinion of
the American Bar Association (ABA) that Southwick was “well-qualified.”
This is the highest approval the ABA
can give and Hatch wryly noted that he had no recollection of that organization
ever having been accused of being “too conservative.”
Sen. Hatch
noted that the Washington Post’s recent headline entitled “Qualified
to Serve” says it all.
Vietnam veteran Jim Warner (winner of two
Purple Hearts and also an experienced lawyer) supports
fellow veteran Leslie Southwick’s nomination. Warner explained how judges
often must join opinions with which they agree even if they do not necessarily
endorse all the judicial reasoning behind those decisions.
Tony
Perkins (former Marine and current President of the Family Research Council)
cited examples of judicial activism on the part of liberal judges highly
approved by those on the left as evidence of the need for more judges like
Leslie Southwick. Perkins, with one of the best lines of the press conference,
called the malicious allegations hurled at Southwick’s record and character
“I.E.D.s”, “intentional exaggerations and
deceitfulness.”
David
Keene (Chairman of the American Conservative Union) said judges should be
approved based on qualifications not ideology and said “if ever there was a
qualified nominee who deserves a vote, [Southwick] is it.”
Wendy
Wright (CWA) urged senators not to be controlled by liberal interest groups but
to approve Judge Southwick whom she described as an American hero. She
paraphrased the famous quote “justice delayed is justice denied” to advocate a
speedy vote.
Veteran
Marine Jim Martin (now with the 60 Plus organization) emphasized his support
and admiration of Judge Leslie Southwick.
Photos by
Daniel Herbster