Dear Sen. Frist-
First of all, congratulations on an impressive victory on Tuesday! Your leadership of the Senate has been good these past few years and I look forward to the upcoming Congress with great anticipation.
For those of us who have patiently waited while good people like Miguel Estrada languished due the obstructionist Democrats, the 2004 elections were especially sweet, with an enlarged GOP majority in the Senate and House, as well as the clear rebuke of the stalling tactics personified by Tom Daschle.
It would be terrible to now snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and allow Sen. Specter to head the Judiciary committee. You are aware of the reasons he is unacceptable so I will not waste your time.
I would also encourage you to change the Senate Rules as you discussed previously to eliminate the possibility of endless fillibusters of judicial appointment votes. As you well know, this is not a Constitutional requirement and is a Senate rule which can be changed at each incoming Congress. Without such a change, I am not sure that we will ever be able to pass a conservative onto the Supreme Court.
You MUST spend some of this political capital the people have voted you or it will wither away through time. The opposition party will not play fair in todays climate and the country cannot withstand two years of obstruction.
Best Regards,
Rob XXX
Norcross, GA
Good letter -- calm and reasoned and knowledgeable.
Splendid Rob. Nice work!
Senators,
When the Democrats started filibustering President Bush’s judicial nominations they changed the way business was done in the US Senate. Republicans must adapt to this tactic of bare knuckles politics.
Republicans have worked and tried many things to get around this Democrat roadblock. It is time to take them on directly.
The first thing every Senate does is to vote on the Senate rules. Republicans must, with a simple majority, change the Senate rules making it clear that filibusters on judicial appointments are forbidden. Nominees will still be held to approval in the Judiciary committee and a full vote in the Senate as they should be.
Failure to change the rules on judicial appointments will guarantee Senate gridlock on judicial appointments unless the Republicans surrender and appoint Democrat choices to the nation’s courts.
Further, allowing filibusters on judicial appointments does not uphold the Senate’s responsibility to advise and consent the President since one person is blocking the whole process and thus Senate is not giving advise and/or consent.
Another problem is Arlen Specter as possibly the chairman of the Judiciary committee. This must not be allowed. While Arlen is busily trying to deny his threats to President Bush’s judicial nominations, Arlen was in a similar situation about six months ago, again trying to deny his comments. It seems that Arlen is a loose cannon and should not be in an important post that will affect the judicial processes in America for the next thirty years.
Thank You,
RJL
That oughta make his day. Nice job.