We need judges now!
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Congressman John Thune represents all of South Dakota. He had hoped in 2002 to run to become the governor of that state. President Bush persuaded Thune that the country needed him in the U.S. Senate, and so Thune answered the call and has declared his candidacy against incumbent Democratic liberal Tim Johnson. It will be a difficult race for Thune, because Johnson's seat mate, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, will use his extraordinary power to raise money for Johnson. Because Thune is one of a half dozen GOP candidates who could knock out a Democratic incumbent, and thus regain control of the Senate, the national Democratic toughs will put the muscle on him. You can help Thune, the president, and the country by sending a check made out to "Thune for Senate," to P.O. Box 516, Sioux Falls, SD, 57101. Here is why it is so important to do so.
Since Jim Jeffords switched his allegiance in the spring, Democrats have controlled the Senate and its committees. No business gets done unless the Democrats want to get it done. The hard-left caucus within the Senate Democrats has control of the Judiciary Committee, and Vermont's Patrick Leahy has imposed a virtual boycott on the President's judicial nominees. This shut-down in the nomination-confirmation process is without precedent in American history, and underscores the ruthless nature of the ideological extremists within the Boxer/Leahy/Wellstone wing of the Democratic Party.
Here are the facts:
- Bill Clinton had 28 of his judicial nominees confirmed in his first year in office. In that year, 1993, Clinton did not send a nomination to the Senate until August, but the Senate still found a way to hold hearings and votes and confirm 57 percent of Clinton's nominees. George W. Bush began sending nominees to the Senate much earlier than Clinton – he sent the first batch of names in May, 2001 – but only eight of his 60 nominations have received a hearing and a vote. That's just 13 percent.
- There are 108 vacancies on the federal courts. When Republicans controlled the Judiciary Committee, Leahy and Daschle declared that 60 vacancies was a "crisis." Now that the number has almost doubled, Leahy will only say that "I am fully committed to the process of confirming judges and filling vacancies." You can contact Leahy at (202) 224-4242, or via e-mail.
Democrats respond to these facts by arguing first that the Republicans did the same thing. This is an outright lie. Bill Clinton named 361 members of the federal judiciary – more than 48 percent of the total number of judges. A handful of Clinton's nominees were blocked by Senator Helms and others. A few others were forced to wait years for their confirmation. Republicans expected Democrats to respond in kind with a few nominations and they have. California's hard-liner Barbara Boxer put the veto on the nomination of Congressman Chris Cox, for example, and "turnabout as fair play" was cited for this outrageous and spiteful refusal to allow one of the country's best legal minds to serve the Ninth Circuit. There will no doubt be other "paybacks" along the way. But the general rule under Senator Hatch's gavel was that President Clinton was entitled to have his nominees brought forward for a timely vote. That is how Clinton managed to average 45 confirmations a year.
Senator Leahy has thrown this general rule overboard. Even highly qualified nominees like former Deputy Solicitor Generals John Roberts and Michael McConnell have been put on ice, and Leahy shows no sign of relenting in his refusal to serve the country by doing his job. Which brings us to the key issue.
It is much worse than partisanship to obstruct the work of the judiciary in a time of war. The judiciary is one-third of our constitutional structure, and to drain it of energy and a full complement of judges is to endanger the national security. Some Democrats seem to think that this is an arena where their petty politics can still play out, even though American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are in harm's way and the nation's civilians are under attack. They could not be more wrong.
The largest manhunt in history is underway. That manhunt requires judges.
The new legislation that is flowing from the Hill will be challenged and will require review. That process will require judges.
The havoc played with the economy and the avalanche of claims following the attacks will only add thousands of new suits to the already giant mountain of litigation confronting the courts. All of these cases and controversies will require judges.
Beyond this pragmatic reality, however, is the understanding that we are fighting to preserve a way of life that is ordered by and ultimately depends upon the rule of law and the dictates of the Constitution. Senators are free under this rule and this document to reject the president's nominees. They are not free to obstruct the government's workings. But obstruct is exactly what Leahy and his colleagues are doing. Terrorists don't need to send anthrax-laced letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee. For all practical purposes, it is already shut down by order of its chairman.
Leahy has walked away from his duty as a senator. But there is a solution, though it is a year away. The Senate must be returned to GOP control, so that the nation's security is not compromised by the hyper-partisans on Daschle's side of the aisle.
Start with a check to Thune as described above, and then use the "forward" button to send this column to a dozen other friends. Follow up as you are able with contributions to the other GOP Senate candidates listed below, all of whom are running against vulnerable Democratic incumbents. Help provide President Bush with the support he needs.
I have never been appalled or even upset by partisan maneuvering in the past. Sept. 11 changed many things, however, and one of them is the patience with which we accept such tactics and the deceits with which they are clothed. Here are the names and contact information for the others who can be counted on to do their jobs as Senators with both eyes on the national interest:
Congressman Greg Ganske, running against hard-left Democrat Tom Harkin in Iowa. A check can be sent to Ganske for Senate, 521 E. Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 or contribute via the Web.
Former Congressman Jim Talent is running against Senator Jean Carnahan, appointed to her late husband's seat after the strange election of 2000. A check can be sent to Talent at Talent for Senate, 1031 Executive Parkway, Suite 100, St. Louis, Mo. 63141, or contribute via the Web.
Norm Coleman is taking on one of the Senate's most irresponsible and hard-left members, Paul Wellstone. Wellstone twice promised the people of Minnesota that he would only serve two terms. He lied. He's running again, and Coleman needs help against him. Send a check to Coleman for Senate, 1410 Energy Park Drive, Energy Park Plaza, Saint Paul, Minn. 55108 or contribute via the Web.
Finally, to keep abreast of all the developments in the effort to undo Jim Jefford's big bounce, visit Regain The Majority, a Website maintained by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
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