Misguided Ted (Ted Kennedy's vengeful filibuster of Estrada)

Sen. Ted Kennedy's vengeful filibuster of Bush administration court nominee Miguel Estrada is a disgrace to the Senate's judicial process and an affront to the American people.

Kennedy's waging war on President Bush and his conservative ideology, more so than Estrada's qualifications to serve on the U.S. District of Columbia appeals court. The liberal icon said he won't stand for a succession of conservative Bush appointments, fearing someday one might make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. So he's singling out Estrada, a conservative Latino immigrant who Kennedy himself calls "intelligent."

This vindictive strategy is repulsive to people of all ideological stripes who believe judicial nominees should be considered individually on the merits. That's the American way, and it's why Estrada deserves a fair Senate hearing.

If Republicans fail to break Kennedy's misguided stranglehold, they'll surely use the same tactic against a Democrat who might enter the White House in 2004 and beyond. It's a bad seed Kennedy's planting for future party nominees.

Four Democrats have come out in support of Estrada. They see Kennedy's plan as destructive to the Senate's integrity.

Lowell is a very interesting city of nearly 100.000 people. It is situated close to the NH border. A mill town, Lowell saw its best days before the Civil War, as a matter of fact you might say it was one of the causes of the War Between The States. The textile mills that were the lifeblood of the New England economy were already moving south to take advantage of cheaper labor.
This region has been the terminus for various waves of immigration. Where it had once been Irish, French Canadian and Greek immigrants, the more reacent migrations have been by the Puerto Rican, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Nigerian people. Quite a stew, to be sure.
The Lowell Sun can be considered a democrat paper. (There's not much sense in being anything else in MA.) But it is not YELLOW DOG democrat. They will take after Marty Meehan for some of his more overt hypocrisies for example.

Much as some of the more intelligent primates can be taught to perform simple, repetitive tasks, the esteemed Senator from Massachusetts has demonstrated his ability to do the same.

Even through the fog of getting drunk, being drunk or suffering a hangover, years of engaging in knee-jerk liberalism have conditioned his few extant brain cells to allow his speaking mechanisms to operate even in the absence of cells devoted to logical thought.

Please, keep talking Teddy. You can only get worse.

My email to W:

Dear President Bush, With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

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