Leftist PFAW urges action on Bush judicial appointment

PFAW leftist website ^

[Gopher Broke]

PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY June 30, 2004

Urge Your Senators to Vote Against Anti-Choice Judicial Nominee Leon Holmes

On July 6, your U.S. senators will vote on the federal district court nomination of J. Leon Holmes, who has been a zealous opponent of reproductive freedom and women's equality. Holmes' views are so extreme, in fact, that we have a real opportunity to defeat his confirmation on an up-or-down vote.*

Today, we're asking you to take the first action in a two-step activist effort on Holmes: e-mail letters to your senators and urge them both to vote against the confirmation of J. Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

View, edit and e-mail your letter at:

http://www.pfaw.org/go/oppose_Holmes/

The second action will be a call-in day to the Senate on Tuesday, July 6. Look for an e-mail alert with the toll-free call-in number that morning.

Holmes' stated beliefs on a woman's right to choose and on women's roles in society call into grave question his understanding of and commitment to principles of constitutional law. Indeed, Holmes' record on these subjects would make it impossible for many to believe that they will receive a fair hearing in his court.

Holmes' record of anti-choice, anti-equality activism includes:

Served as president of Arkansas Right to Life and in leadership positions of other anti-choice groups that openly call for a complete reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Acted as legal counsel for anti-choice groups in several cases and defended an anti-choice activist accused of trespassing at a physician's clinic, arguing that his client was justified because he was trying to inform clinic visitors of the alleged harmful effects of abortion.

Co-authored an article claiming that "the wife is to subordinate herself to her husband" and that "to the extent we adopt the feminist principle that the distinction between the sexes is of no consequence...we are contributing to the culture of death." Adding more doubt about his ability to be a fair and impartial federal judge, Holmes frequently expresses his deep ideological hostility to women's rights and equality with inflammatory exaggerations. For instance, he has:

Compared pro-choice advocates to Nazis.

Written that abortion is "...the simplest issue this country has faced since slavery was made unconstitutional. And it deserves the same response."

Argued against rape exceptions to abortion bans by stating that "[C]oncern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami." (To the contrary, studies estimate that between 25,000 and 32,000 women each year become pregnant as a result of rape in the U.S.) After three-and-a-half years of unanimous, Republican rubber-stamp support for President Bush's court-packing plan, a few pro-choice Republican senators appear to have finally found a nominee worth closer scrutiny in Holmes. Even Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee - usually the most ardent defenders of Bush's nominees - were not unanimous in endorsing Holmes' confirmation. Instead, the nomination went to the floor without recommendation.

Write your senators and then spread the word to your friends. With your help today and next week, we can make Holmes' nomination another important milestone in our campaign against Bush's slate of right-wing ideologues - the first Bush judicial nominee rejected by a bipartisan Senate majority.

* In May, Senate Democrats agreed to an up-or-down vote on Holmes and 24 other Bush judicial nominees in exchange for Bush's promise to stop using recess appointments for the remainder of his term. Therefore, there is no possibility of a filibuster to block Holmes' confirmation.

TAKE ACTION

Urge your U.S. Senators to vote AGAINST the confirmation of anti-choice activist J. Leon Holmes to a life-time seat on a federal district court.

Send an e-mail to your senators.

HOLMES CALL-IN DAY, JULY 6

Remember to check your inbox on the morning of Tuesday, July 6, for an alert announcing a toll-free call-in number. Use it to tell your senators once again to vote 'NO' on the nomination of Leon Holmes. The full Senate will be voting on this nomination in the early evening next Tuesday.

[TBarnett34]

#sub (reproductive freedom} {freedom to kill babies}

[votelife]

we'll see how Specter goes on this one!