A number of U.S. senators have been expressing their deep concern about the damage being done to our nation by GOP partisan obstruction of judicial nominees. Yesterday, Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico pointed out that when Republicans controlled the White House and Senate, they were demanding floor votes for any nominee clearing the Judiciary Committee:

The arguments my colleagues and I make today—that judicial nominees who have been approved by the Judiciary Committee deserve a vote by the full Senate—are the same arguments my Republican colleagues made when President Bush’s nominees were held up by a Democratic minority.

Of course, when Bush was president, Democrats blocked only the most extreme circuit court nominees, a handful of nominees whose elevation to the nation’s federal appellate courts could do grave damage to our country. In contrast, Republicans are obstructing every single one of President Obama’s nominees – even district court nominees with unanimous committee support.

What we are seeing from Senate Republicans is not a policy based on principle, but one based solely on partisan interests. Unfortunately, it is putting our nation’s courts at risk and denying justice to millions of Americans.