May 13, 2005

Advice and Consent--Well Maybe Not!!

Republicans and Conservatives for America

Article II, Section 2 Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: "He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law."

This seems rather clear cut, at least to me anyway, but it's not so clear to the folks at People for the American Way who have jumped on the "save the filibuster" bandwagon.

Our constitution also provides under Article VI Section III, that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Again, this seems all too clear, but not according to the Democratic minority in the Senate, who continue to hold President Bush's judicial nominations hostage by denying them an up or down vote. As I have heard time and time again, it is the responsibility of the U. S. Senate TO VOTE on these nominations. So what's the problem? If the nominee is unqualified, then reject the nomination--and that's OK, at least the Senate would have done its job.

Speaking of which, the Senate will soon be voting on a rule change that would effectively end the filibuster on judicial nominations, and require only a simple majority (41 votes rather than 63) for confirmation. This is a welcome and logical change. Unfortunately reports in the media are suggesting that this process may be hijacked by Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, who is apparently working on a "deal" to keep the filibuster in place. What's up with this anyway?

It is imperative that all concerned Americans contact their U. S. Senators and urge them to end the filibuster on judicial nominations. Qualified judges deserve an up or down vote on the Floor of the Senate regardless of their ideologies.

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