Editorial Boards Praise Gorsuch Nomination

Local editorial boards across the country, including liberal ones that vehemently disapprove of President Trump, have praised President Trump's nominee for Justice Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, and called for the Senate to vote on his nomination.  Here are some examples:

New Hampshire Union Leader: Liberal interest groups are lining up against Gorsuch, arguing that he sides with employers over employees. But Gorsuch has always sided with the law. He refuses to bend the law in favor of sympathetic plaintiffs making groundless claims.  

The Detroit News (Michigan): Gorsuch is a masterful pick. His resume and background are beyond challenge: Harvard-, Columbia- and Oxford-educated; clerked for two Supreme Court justices; praised for his temperament and reverence for the law; more than a decade of experience on the federal bench. 

He is a legal superstar and Democrats know it. It will be tough to paint this thoughtful Coloradan whose most significant ruling was affirming religious freedom in the Hobby Lobby case as out of the mainstream. 

Longmont Times-Call (Colorado): Much to his credit, President Trump has nominated a resoundingly traditional, eminently qualified federal appellate judge for a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court.   

East Bay Times (California): Reading many of those decisions, one sees a “textualist” thinking similar to that of Scalia. However, his writing differs markedly from Scalia’s famously abrasive — and sometimes bombastic — style. Gorsuch’s smooth opinions consistently strike a respectful, considered tone. Many begin as if written by someone wishing to tell a human story rather than by a jurist passing judgment. 

Tampa Bay Times (Florida): In perhaps his most responsible decision since taking office, President Donald Trump has nominated a well-qualified, conservative federal appeals court judge to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Neil Gorsuch is widely praised for his sharp intellect, low-key demeanor and clear writing. While he should be questioned closely about his record and originalist approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, he deserves a full confirmation hearing and a vote in the Senate. . . . 

There will be plenty of other opportunities for Democrats to draw a red line and oppose the president. This is not one of them, and the nation needs to see some return to normalcy in Washington. Gorsuch is a well-qualified conservative who would not tilt the Supreme Court's ideological balance, and he deserves full consideration and a confirmation vote by the Senate. 

Daily Camera (Colorado): Judge Gorsuch peels back the layers of each case carefully, with precise argument and elegant prose (read Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Lynch, 834 F.2d 1142 (10th Cir. 2016)). He strongly believes executive branch overreach violates the Constitution's separation of powers, citing The Federalist No. 47 (James Madison), "(t)he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

Articulate defense of our Constitution's limits on the exercise of executive power matters more today than ever before. . . .  

Albany Democrat-Herald (Oregon): As for concerns that Gorsuch is too conservative for the Supreme Court, here's a reminder: The president of the United States gets to make nominations to the Supreme Court. If you wanted a nominee with a different ideological bent, well, you're probably wishing today that Hillary Clinton had run a better campaign. 

Chicago Tribune (Illinois): The Gorsuch pick offers both parties a chance to end these selfish antics. Early reviews suggest he's fair-minded, brilliant, collegial — and the sort of conservative Trump told voters he'd nominate. New York University law professor Richard Epstein, who disagrees with Gorsuch on some issues, on Wednesday gave us his verdict: "He is all around a terrific guy, and if he is out of the mainstream then no Republican appointee to the bench is within it. Nor is he like Scalia in temperament. He thinks first, then writes, does not have any strong intellectual crusades on anything from standing to abortion to gay rights." 

Charleston Gazette-Mail (West Virginia): From the evidence so far, Neil Gorsuch has the qualities anyone considered for justice of the highest court should have: a strong understanding and respect for the nation’s founding document, the U.S. Constitution.

These editorial boards have recognized, as have many other intellectually honest Democrats, liberals, and moderates, that Judge Gorsuch is an extremely well-qualified nominee who understands his role as a judge and who will interpret the law and not promote a specific agenda on the Supreme Court.