YOU Can Pick the Next Supreme!

There's a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

How can you be a part of the selection process for a replacement?

Sign a petition. Send a letter. NOW!

Nothing in the Constitution gives you a part in the process, other than your role in electing senators and a president.

Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. So what?

That was probably a mistake, right?

The framers probably intended the minority in the Senate and assorted special interest groups to decide Supreme Court appointments.

What is the procedure for filling a vacancy on the Court?

Article 2 Section 2 of the Constitution specifies only that the president ". . . by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . judges of the Supreme Court . . . ." In practice, when a Supreme Court vacancy occurs, the president selects a nominee, whose name is forwarded to the Senate for consideration, first by the Senate Judiciary Committee and then by the whole Senate. That consideration ultimately involves a vote by the Senate to confirm or deny the appointment. If more senators vote for than against confirmation, the nominee is confirmed as a lifetime appointee to the high Court. If the vote for confirmation fails to gain a simple majority of the votes cast for and against the nominee, then the nominee is rejected and the president submits another nomination.

I know it sounds like this process should be relatively free of partisan politics; but times have changed. I should say when a Republican president nominates an individual to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, times have changed. Then, the process is a dirty, mud-slinging, sliming brawl.

This precedence was set by Ted Kennedy and the Democrats when they tore Robert Bork to shreds. They carried it forward when they participated in the high-tech lynching of Clarence Thomas. And now, the Dems promise, to quote Chuckie Schumer, "WAR".

It should be noted that Republicans did not declare war on Clinton's two nominees for the Supreme Court. The Dems have raised this politicization of the process to an art form--an ugly, shameful battle.

Liberals are organizing their minions to sign petitions and write letters in hopes of influencing the makeup of the Court.

I believe that the people already made clear what they want the Supreme Court to be when the majority of Americans voted for Bush in 2004. He won the election. He promised to nominate originalists to the Court. It's what the people want.

Nonetheless, the Left has declared war on a nominee that hasn't even been named.


MoveOn PAC's Petition

FULL TEXT OF THE PETITION

TO: (Your senators)
FROM: (Your Name and Email)
SUBJECT: Protect our rights
__________

Dear senator,

(Your personal note)

The Senate must stand up to President Bush and demand a Supreme Court nominee who will protect the rights and freedoms of the American people.

Joe Biden's Petition

Send this petition to: President Bush

President George W. Bush

I have a vital interest in an independent and impartial Supreme Court.

A quarter century ago, Ronald Reagan enthusiastically accepted the recommendation of Barry Goldwater and nominated a mainstream conservative to the Supreme Court who came to the job with an open mind and true judicial temperament. That nominee, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, was confirmed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 99-0.

Mr. President, you have an opportunity to begin uniting the country by working with the U.S. Senate in its "advise and consent" role to confirm a Justice that we can all support.

Our country offers many worthy candidates to choose from. Please work with the U.S. Senate in selecting a nominee who will receive unanimous support there.

With so many challenges facing the country at home and abroad, we owe it to the nation to find broad, bipartisan support for the next Supreme Court Justice as we have done so often in the past.

Signed by:
[Your name]
[Your address]

Chuck Schumer's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Petition

Mr. President,

You now have a great opportunity to make good on your promise to be a uniter, not a divider.

As you consider your choice to be the next Supreme Court justice, I urge you to consult with the Senate and the American people in an effort to choose a judge who will serve the broad interests of our entire nation, not just a narrow partisan agenda.

Give us a Supreme Court nominee who we can count on to:

-- Protect fully the individual rights and freedoms of all Americans.

-- Keep an open mind and a balanced perspective for each and every case, while rejecting an ideological or partisan agenda.

-- Refuse to play favorites by consistently siding with powerful special interests over the interests of the average citizens.

The whole country is watching. We're counting on you.

Signed by:
[Your name]
[Your address]

NARAL's Petition

The Battle for the Supreme Court Starts Now!
Dear President Bush,

As a pro-choice American, I will do everything possible to keep you from overturning Roe v. Wade by nominating an anti-choice justice to the Supreme Court.

[Your personal comments here.]

Sincerely,

[Your name]

cc: Your Senators

Patrick Leahy's Petition

The Republican leadership has a choice: choose a battle that tears America apart, or seek a middle-ground with a nominee we all can trust to fairly interpret and uphold the law.

Our Senators need to know that America doesn't want them to rubber stamp the President's nominee.

Join Senator Leahy in calling on the Senate to conduct thoughtful deliberations during this process:

SaveTheCourt.org (People for the American Way) Letter

Subject: Pick a fair and impartial nominee

Dear (recipient name),

When it comes to an institution as important as the Supreme Court, a nomination shouldn't be made in partisan way, but by seeking consensus across party lines for mainstream judges who will protect the rights of ordinary Americans. I urge you to work with senators of both political parties to find a judge who will stand up for the law and our rights, not an extreme ideology.

The Constitution says your nominees are subject to the "advice and consent" of the Senate. In order to best serve the nation, please honor the checks and balances that make our country great, and choose consultation and consensus over confrontation in your Supreme Court nomination.

Sincerely,

NOW Letter

Required text to Senate: This text will appear at the beginning of your message.

As a constituent of yours and a supporter of women's rights, I am writing to you about the current vacancy on the Supreme Court.

As you debate and vote on a nominee to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court, I ask you to carefully and fairly deliberate the qualifications of any nominee. With the resignation of Justice O'Connor, George W. Bush will have the opportunity to replace a justice who has often made the difference in the preservation of essential rights.

Optional text to Senate: (edit or add your own text)

For girls and women, the impact of the Court's decisions will affect their safety, livelihood, family health and in many cases their very future. Women and girls are affected by a whole host of issues on which the Supreme Court hears cases: educational equality, affirmative action, discrimination and civil rights, workplace protections and benefits, health care issues, pensions and retirement security, social security and environmental safety.

In addition, the civil and Constitutional rights of a majority of the people of this nation will be in question, whether the issues involve race, color, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual identity. The next Supreme Court justice must have a track record of giving more than lip service to these important protections.

I think people should let their representatives and senators know where they stand. However, I don't think it's appropriate to run ads and spend millions of dollars on campaigns for Supreme Court appointments.

The campaign was over in November 2004. Bush won. He gets to choose a nominee. The people voted Republicans to hold the majority in the Senate. The Senate votes to confirm. Case closed.

There should be no war. The Dems should let the American people get what they voted for when they gave Republicans power and rejected the clueless liberals and their hollow "plans".