Sunday, May 22, 2005
Mobilize, and do it quickly
From MoveOn PAC:
On Tuesday May 24th, the Senate will vote on a motion to end debate on judicial nominations, and when that motion fails Senator Bill Frist will launch the "nuclear option" - an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver to break the rules of the Senate and seize absolute control over lifetime appointments to the highest courts in the land. The vote is going to be incredibly close, and there are as many as 6 votes still up in the air - more than enough to win. We must act now.
http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear?id=5554-3061112-v06XracGfqe6phtjRvCIMg&t=3
My own message to my Senators:
Dear Senator,
With the nuclear option looming so close, I think it's time to remind you of some of the history surrounding the filibuster. The filibuster is an integral part of the checks and balances that preserve our current system of government. If you vote for the nuclear option, you are voting against the ideals that this country's Constitution was founded on.
In 1787, James Madison said in Federalist 10 that "measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority."
This is a reminder that your job as an elected representative is to preserve the rights of the minority even in the face of pressure from the majority. If you undercut the filibuster, you are doing a disservice to every citizen of the United States, whether they're one of your constituents or not. Part of that job is to allow the dissenting minority opinion to have a voice and to consider that voice. The filibuster is the tool by which the legislature is able to hear that minority voice even in the face of the majority.
If you take away the right to filibuster on any issue, you are effectively saying to the minority voice that you want it silenced. This is a step towards fascism, where no dissenting voice is tolerated. And that, Senator, is absolutely unAmerican.
The Senate must oppose the "nuclear option" to eliminate the filibuster, and preserve the checks and balances that have kept our courts fair and independent for centuries. ¶ 5/22/2005 10:32:00 AM
On Tuesday May 24th, the Senate will vote on a motion to end debate on judicial nominations, and when that motion fails Senator Bill Frist will launch the "nuclear option" - an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver to break the rules of the Senate and seize absolute control over lifetime appointments to the highest courts in the land. The vote is going to be incredibly close, and there are as many as 6 votes still up in the air - more than enough to win. We must act now.
http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear?id=5554-3061112-v06XracGfqe6phtjRvCIMg&t=3
My own message to my Senators:
Dear Senator,
With the nuclear option looming so close, I think it's time to remind you of some of the history surrounding the filibuster. The filibuster is an integral part of the checks and balances that preserve our current system of government. If you vote for the nuclear option, you are voting against the ideals that this country's Constitution was founded on.
In 1787, James Madison said in Federalist 10 that "measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority."
This is a reminder that your job as an elected representative is to preserve the rights of the minority even in the face of pressure from the majority. If you undercut the filibuster, you are doing a disservice to every citizen of the United States, whether they're one of your constituents or not. Part of that job is to allow the dissenting minority opinion to have a voice and to consider that voice. The filibuster is the tool by which the legislature is able to hear that minority voice even in the face of the majority.
If you take away the right to filibuster on any issue, you are effectively saying to the minority voice that you want it silenced. This is a step towards fascism, where no dissenting voice is tolerated. And that, Senator, is absolutely unAmerican.
The Senate must oppose the "nuclear option" to eliminate the filibuster, and preserve the checks and balances that have kept our courts fair and independent for centuries. ¶ 5/22/2005 10:32:00 AM
