Members of Congress and representatives from Hispanic groups gathered at
the Capitol Building on Wednesday to urge support for the nomination of
Miguel Estrada to be appointed a Court of Appeals Judge in the District
of Columbia. Estrada’s nomination has been stalled in the Senate
Judiciary Committee for nearly a year because liberals consider him too
conservative.
Rev. Martin Garcia, executive director of La Amistad, a coalition of
Hispanic church leaders, asked why liberals are so opposed to Estrada.
“What is it about Miguel that liberal Senate Democrats do not like? The
fact that he taught himself English or that he is the picture of the
American dream – an immigrant who studied hard and became successful? Mr.
Estrada does not think the way liberals believe Hispanics should
think – therefore he is unacceptable,” said Garcia. For more on this, go
to: Estrada
There was nearly a complete media blackout on the presence of Hispanic
pastors who helped organize this press conference on behalf of Estrada.
A day after the event, only the “Washington Times” had mentioned Rev.
Garcia, his comments, and the fact that Hispanic church leaders were
there to support Estrada’s nomination.
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) also spoke out on behalf of Estrada. He
called opposition to Estrada, “Clarence Thomas all over again?. If
you’re a minority and a conservative, we hate you.”
Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) said: “Because he is so qualified, because
he’s so well-educated, because he has a conservative philosophy, they
say he shouldn’t even have a hearing.”
For more on Estrada’s background, read the summary at:
TVC Judicial Nominee Monitoring Project
