Virginia Thomas (Mrs. Justice Clarence Thomas) writes in the WSJ today on Miguel Estrada and the nominations “process”:

Not only is this a sad day for Miguel and Laurie Estrada, but we have all let something unfortunate occur in Washington. We allowed the U.S. Senate to erect a “glass ceiling” in our courts–you can do all the right things in America, but if you do not agree with Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, you need not apply as a federal judge. This is the message that Democrats hope minorities, in particular, get from their victory as they succeeded in repelling a talented man, who happens to be Hispanic, from public service. For the hard left, Miguel Estrada was not qualified to be a federal judge because he would not march to their drumbeat.
….each of us is partly responsible for Miguel’s decision to withdraw his nomination. What did you and I do to discourage an honorable man who is mainstream and qualified from serving his country? It’s not enough to look the other way as the left makes charges that go unanswered. Miguel Estrada is no extremist. It is the left that wants to capture the federal judiciary, as it claims is the goal of the right. I’ve seen this before–when those on the left accuse you of something they are guilty of themselves.
…the battle is whether there will be an independent judiciary or a liberal litmus test to transform our courts into another political branch. Miguel Estrada said yes to public service for 29 months; what did we do in that same time frame and what can we do now to help good people serve?