Friday, March 07, 2003, 12:00 a.m. Pacific

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/134647510_estrada07.html

Filibuster on Estrada exposes Dems' true colors

By Tony Tocora and Steven J. Cuevas
Special to The Times

The United States of America is the greatest country in the world. Consider the story of Miguel Estrada, who immigrated to this country at the age of 17.

He earned degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, served both Republican and Democratic presidents in the Solicitor General's Office, works for a prestigious law firm, and now stands to be the first Hispanic appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Estrada is a leader in the Hispanic community and a shining example of the American Dream. Yet, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Washington Democrats, are going along with a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on his confirmation. Why?

Estrada's qualifications for the bench are unimpeachable.

The Honduran native graduated magna cum laude from the best law school in the world. As assistant solicitor general, he argued 15 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he was the deputy chief of the appellate section of the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York. You may recall that this is the same U.S. attorney's office that produced former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Oh, and he began his legal career by clerking for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

He has proven to be a brilliant attorney with an outstanding record.

But for Murray and Cantwell, the bipartisan support of the American Bar Association, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Hispanic Bar Association, former Solicitor General Seth Waxman and countless others is irrelevant.

By failing to end the filibuster, the senators lend support to party-leadership claims that Estrada is not qualified.

Democrats in the Senate have invented one untenable argument after the other to justify their obstruction. Their position would be funny if it were not so insulting.

The arguments Democrats have raised against Estrada range from the merely unsupported to the outright offensive.

Our senators have gone along with the special-interest voices claiming that on one hand Estrada is too far right of the mainstream, and on the other he is a stealth candidate they know nothing about. Well, which is it?

Democrats contend he lacks judicial experience, while ignoring the simple fact that all but three current members of this same court had no bench experience prior to donning the robe.

Senate Democrats expressed shock when Estrada maintained his ethical obligation to a client by refusing to share confidential memoranda he drafted while at the Solicitor General's Office. Not only is this request unprecedented, but all seven living former solicitors general agreed with Estrada.

The Democrats assert that he is "Hispanic in name only" and that he was nominated simply because he is Hispanic. Those arguments are repugnant, require no response and have no place in our public debate.

Why are Murray and Cantwell working to block Estrada's appointment to the Court of Appeals?

The answer is simple: They and other Democrats are placing partisan and racial politics above the needs of the country. The filibuster Democrats have orchestrated is preventing the Senate from addressing other important issues. Rather than dealing with the pending war, terrorism and the economy, they are spending all of their time preventing a simple vote.

This abuse of the "advise and consent" role the Senate plays in the confirmation process is dangerous. If successful, this filibuster will alter over 200 years of Senate tradition. It will no longer be good enough to get a majority of votes; it will now require a supermajority of 60 votes, the number needed for cloture. The minority may not rule, but it is holding the Senate hostage. The debate is over, it is time to vote and move on.

Murray and Cantwell offer no reasonable explanation why they are blocking a lawful vote on this candidate. We are left wondering why they demand a minority candidate meet a higher standard than any other judicial nominee in history.

Our senators are politically savvy and when the inevitable vote does come, they will no doubt vote in favor of Estrada — a political necessity when they come to our neighborhoods soliciting our votes. All minority groups should pay close attention to Miguel Estrada's fight and take note for election day.

In spite of Murray's and Cantwell's shameful attempts to undermine the confirmation of this qualified candidate, we are confident Estrada will be confirmed by the Senate to become the first Hispanic on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He will continue to be a role model not just for Hispanics, but for all immigrants and their children. Estrada is a shining example of the greatness that can be attained by anyone in the United States, the greatest country in the world.