In previous statements, professor Goodwin Liu made disparaging remarks about private property when he said, “Before becoming a judge,  [Chief Justice John Roberts] belonged to the Republican National Lawyers Association and the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, whose mission is to promote (among other things) ‘free enterprise,’ ‘private ownership of property,’ and ‘limited government.’ These are code words for an ideological agenda hostile to environmental, workplace, and consumer protections.”

I was making the point that these American values are basic to American constitutional thought, not a hostile ideological agenda. The comparison between Liu and U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell has no merit since there was nothing in McConnell’s record close to reflecting the radical anti-property-rights views of Liu.

Sen. Chuck Grassley is an Iowa Republican and a senior member of the Judiciary Committee.