Skip to footer

Why 27 liberal groups are fighting Obama's judge nomination

Twenty-seven liberal groups are strongly opposed to Michael Boggs serving on the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The groups cited Boggs' positions on abortion, the Confederate flag, and LGBT rights.

|
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File
President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Liberal groups are fighting his judicial nomination in Georgia.
  • By Donna Cassata Associated Press

| Washington

Twenty-seven liberal groups are pressuring Senate Democrats to reject one of President Barack Obama's judicial nominees.

In a letter on Thursday, the groups expressed their strong opposition to Michael Boggs serving on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, citing his record as a state legislator from 2001 through 2004. Boggs is currently a judge on the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

"During his time as a legislator in the Georgia General Assembly, Boggs demonstrated a troubling lack of concern for individuals whose experience and personal history differ from his own, creating a record that lacks a demonstrated commitment to fairness and equal justice with respect to issues of reproductive freedom, civil rights, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality," the groups wrote to the 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Among the organizations signing the letter were NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Organization for Women and the Human Rights Campaign, one of the most powerful gay rights groups.

The groups cited Boggs' support for legislation on parental notification in cases of abortion with no exception for instances of rape or incest. They also pointed to his vote for keeping the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag.

The groups urged the committee's 10 Democrats to oppose Boggs' confirmation.

"We believe that Boggs' record on reproductive rights, civil rights, and LGBT rights is especially troubling in a nominee to the federal bench," the groups said. "Litigants in Georgia, and the nation as a whole, deserve a judge whose commitment to equal justice is clear."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration had not seen the letter. He declined to comment on whether the president would select another nominee for the judgeship.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Why 27 liberal groups are fighting Obama's judge nomination
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0220/Why-27-liberal-groups-are-fighting-Obama-s-judge-nomination
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe