The first openly gay man to be appointed a federal judge won the job by a landslide. The New York Times reported on Monday that J. Paul Oetken, 45, former associate counsel to President Bill Clinton, was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 80 to 13.
Washington Post opinion writer Dana Milbank notes that what’s remarkable about Oetken’s confirmation was that it was “utterly unremarkable.” The nomination would have been, at one time, “a flashpoint in the culture wars,” he says, but the overwhelmingly favorable vote was cast quietly with many socially conservative members voting in Oetken’s favor.
“Opposition was relegated to where it belongs: in the dark recesses of the Internet,” Milbank writes.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, (D-NY), who nominated Oetken, took a moment to commemorate the fact that the gay issue was a non-issue, saying that Oetken “will be a symbol of how much we have achieved as a country in just the last few decades. And importantly, he will give hope to many talented young lawyers who until now thought their paths might be limited because of their sexual orientation. When Paul becomes Judge Oetken, he will be living proof to all those young lawyers that it really does get better.”
Washington Post opinion writer Dana Milbank notes that what’s remarkable about Oetken’s confirmation was that it was “utterly unremarkable.” The nomination would have been, at one time, “a flashpoint in the culture wars,” he says, but the overwhelmingly favorable vote was cast quietly with many socially conservative members voting in Oetken’s favor.
“Opposition was relegated to where it belongs: in the dark recesses of the Internet,” Milbank writes.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, (D-NY), who nominated Oetken, took a moment to commemorate the fact that the gay issue was a non-issue, saying that Oetken “will be a symbol of how much we have achieved as a country in just the last few decades. And importantly, he will give hope to many talented young lawyers who until now thought their paths might be limited because of their sexual orientation. When Paul becomes Judge Oetken, he will be living proof to all those young lawyers that it really does get better.”