TRANSCRIPTION

Erick Erickson’s endorsement of GALEO’s Dax Lopez for federal judge in Georgia

The below transcription was done from the audio of Erick Erickson’s WSB afternoon drive-time Atlanta radio show of January 7, 2016.

Audio here.

Transcription done by Rev.com

I have added some educational links.

Show intro: “3, 2, 1, 0. All engine running. Lift off, we have a lift off.
Erick Erickson: I guess it depends, if you’re [Jude Alison 00:00:15].

Welcome, it’s Erick here on [inaudible 00:00:17] News, 95.5 AM 750 WSB, the full number 404 872 0750 1 800 WSB Talk. Wow, breaking news – Lynn Westmoreland, congressman out of Peachtree City is going to retire from congress, already getting phone calls, a ton of phone calls from people asking me if I’ve got a pick in there – I might know someone who would be very good for that job. I’m reaching out to him to see if he’s interested. Might get a quick endorsement for me out of this, for a candidate in that race.

I want to get into that and the implications of it, and Lynn Westmoreland’s history, and rumors are he wants to lay ground for governor’s race or something. There’s a headline in the AJC today – Sam Olens may have unintentionally, or intentionally taken himself out of the race for governor with his statement on Syrian refugees. Couldn’t be helped, he’s following the law.

(Begin Lopez endorsement) I want to begin somewhere else, though, and this may make some of you a little angry with me, but I want to lay out my thinking on this for you, because there’s an issue happening right now in the US Senate that affects Georgia directly. You see, there’s a state court judge in DeKalb County, his name is Dax Lopez, and he has been nominated by the president to be a federal judge, and the problem for Dax Lopez that you need to know, for the US district court in the northern district of Georgia, is that … Well, he supports immigration reform, and before he entered in to being a judge, his political positions, he was very aggressively for immigration reform. People are upset, conservative activists are upset about Dax Lopez, because he’s for immigration reform.

Folks, I am told rather privately, although I can say publicly, that the democrats and the republicans are structuring deals for this year, and what they will do, and one of the issues is going to be judges to be approved, and one of the judgeships that the president is very concerned about is the northern district of Georgia. There have been a number of hurdles getting a judge along the way for the seat, and the president wants the seat filled.

Here’s what I’m telling you: If you’re not going with Dax Lopez to be a judge, there’s going to be a vote. It’s going to come to the floor, and all of the democrats, and a handful of republicans are going to vote for someone to fill that seat, and you’re not going to get a better nominee than Dax Lopez. That’s a fact. Dax Lopez, of all the judicial picks by the president nationwide, he’s probably the most free market. Most willing to understand that business needs to be able to do business. He’s going to be the best pick you could hope for from the president of the United States, for Georgia. He is the least liberal nominee I think the president has probably put on the bench nationwide at a district court position. Members of the Conservative Federalist Society have come out in favor of him, a number of republicans have come out in favor of him – I’m just telling you, you don’t go with Dax Lopez, there’s a deal being cut in congress on judicial votes, and if you’re not going with him, you’re going to get some wackadoo liberal, and there are going to be enough republicans to vote for that person.

Either go with Dax Lopez, or we’re going to get a judge on the bench who’s far worse for business, far worse for freedom, far worse for individual liberty than he is – And he’s not bad on any of those issues, including individual liberty. He’s not. DeKalb County state court judge, a lot of my republican friends up there, conservatives all of them, a lot of them Ted Cruz supporters, even – All like him, think he’s a good guy, think he would be a great judge. It is the immigration issue that is the hurdle, guess what? He’s not going to have a role to play in that issue on the federal bench in the northern district of Georgia, he’s just not. I would say, Johnny Isakson, David Perdue, go on and let him go to the floor and vote for him, get him on the bench. I think it’s the right thing to do. I think that he would be far better than anyone else we would get down the line, and I hope that Perdue and Isakson will take that into consideration that a fire-breathing conservative like me thinks that this is the best pick we’re going to get, and he would be good pick for a republican, frankly, as well – And that’s the truth, no spin, so go for it.

Now, let’s step out and check traffic before we get onto the-

Thank you, sir. Sorry, the call screening program has locked out, and apparently if I push this little button on Windows 7 it requires that the computer starts talking to me, I had no idea if you guys heard that. All right, someone else is going to have to control alt delete because I’m locked out of the computer for call screening, but the phone number’s 40487207501800 WSB Talk. I see a text coming through from a buddy of mine to repeat what I said at the very end.

Yeah, if a republican president nominated Dax Lopez based on his record, based on his background, based on where he is and the people who are supporting him in the Federalist Society, the Chamber of Commerce and what not, he would be a logical person for a republican to pick as well, and republicans would be falling all over themselves to praise him and get him on the bench, and they would. I don’t have a problem with the guy. He’s the best pick we could possibly have here in the northern district of Georgia. The northern district covers … It’s kind of weird, they’re diagonal, the districts. There’s the southern district, the middle district and the northern district. The middle district actually covers Athens, Macon, Albany. The southern district, Brunswick, Valdosta, Waycross, Savannah. The northern district, Atlanta up to Gainesville, that area, and he would be a good pick.

I know they’re cutting a deal, I know they are. I have a credible source telling me they’re mapping out, Harry [inaudible 00:06:50] this year, one of the issues is judges, and if they don’t get Dax Lopez they’re going to get someone else, and that someone else is going to be far worse, so let’s get a move on with him.”