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It’s hard to disagree with Sen. Chuck Schumer’s characterization of Estrada as a "sphinx-like candidate" when the guy won’t even answer questions on whether or not he believes such landmark Supreme Court decisions as Roe v. Wade and Romer vs. Evans were decided properly. (Romer vs. Evans overturned a Colorado antigay amendment.) Under Senate Judiciary Committee questioning, Estrada claimed not to have read the briefs or listened to the arguments in those cases, so he couldn’t offer an answer. But as journalist Joshua Marshall noted on his website, Talking Points Memo, Estrada worked as a Supreme Court clerk for the pivotal Justice Anthony Kennedy when Roe v. Wade was challenged in 1989. He certainly had to have read the briefs.
Schumer asked Estrada about a report in The Nation that suggested antigay bias on Estrada’s part–another question Estrada waffled on. According to the article, a potential applicant for a clerkship at the court was told by Estrada not to even apply: "When I asked him why I was being ruled out without even an interview, Miguel told me his job was to prevent liberal clerks from being hired. He told me he was screening out liberals because a liberal clerk had influenced Justice Kennedy to side with the majority and write a pro-gay-rights decision in a case known as Romer v. Evans, which struck down a Colorado statute that discriminated against gays and lesbians."
Another good reason the Democrats are, for the moment at least, "delaying."