[Hoot Gibson]

Bush wasn't known for throwing out liberals just to get them on the bench. Remember all the backlog? Besides, Reagan appointed him first.

From 1988:

[INDENT]In what may be another bitter fight over the Reagan Administration's judicial appointments, civil rights groups say they will vigorously oppose the nomination of a prominent San Francisco lawyer to the Federal District Court there.

The lawyer, Vaughn R. Walker, has made enemies in the California bar through his representation of chemical companies, the National Rifle Association and the United States Olympic Committee in its efforts to bar gay athletic competitions from using the word ''Olympics.''

***

Mr. Walker, a 43-year-old partner at the law firm of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro who has been active in Republican politics, represented the National Rifle Association in a successful effort to overturn a ban in San Francisco on the private ownership of pistols.

****

Among Mr. Walker's critics are women's groups, homosexual-rights advocates and the Coalition for Civil Rights, a consortium of several prominent civil rights groups in California. T. J. Anthony, a spokesman, said the coalition voted on Tuesday to oppose the nomination. [/INDENT]

Sounds like a real liberal.

There is a surprise, the New York Times opposed a Bush federal judge appointment. (If you quote a source, you should identify said source.)

Yes, I remember the huge backlog of Bush judicial appointments. Democrats did all that they could to block as many appointments as possible. They did so for purely political reasons and the fact that Walker's appointment was contested by the New York Times does not make him a conservative. Walker was confirmed by the US Senate by unanimous consent. If John Kerry and Ted Kennedy voted to confirm him, Walker is no conservative.