|
Sen. Feinstein:
I am writing to you, to express my extreme disappointment that you have spoken out against a filibuster on the nomination of Samuel Alito to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court.
Specifically, you said: "I do not see a likelihood of a filibuster. This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court."
Sen. Feinstein, there are several issues at work, which do indeed make the nomination of Samuel Alito filibusterable.
First, the Vanguard case. As you very well know, he promised the Senate during previous confirmation hearings, that as a judge he would recuse himself from any cases involving Vanguard. And you know that he failed to live up to that promise.
I was very disappointed when Sen. Chuck Grassley told Judge Alito not to "lose any sleep" over the fact that he lied to the Senate, and failed to recuse himself from the Vanguard case. I find it unacceptable that a United States Senator would tell a nominee for the Supreme Court to not "lose any sleep" over having lied to the Senate about recusing himself from certain cases.
Secondly, I believe that the issue of Judge Alito's membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) makes his nomination filibusterable.
As you are well aware, Judge Alito bragged about his membership in CAP when he applied for a job in the Reagan Administration. During his confirmation hearings, he disassociated himself from the organization, and said he did not subscribe to their views.
If Judge Alito joined an organization without knowing full well what the organization was all about, but subsequently bragged about his membership in the organization to get a job in a conservative Administration, that clearly calls into question his integrity. Did he falsify a federal job application simply to gain employment?
Thirdly, I believe what makes Judge Alito's nomination filibusterable, is his failure to fully disclose his views on vital issues. He refused to say how he would have ruled on Bush v. Gore, a case that obviously has already come before the Supreme Court. He refused to answer whether or not he thought Roe v. Wade was the settled law of the land, a question that John G. Roberts answered during this confirmation hearings. He also refused to answer whether he thought an innocent person had a right not to be executed.
Sen. Feinstein, one of your colleagues, Sen. Arlen Specter, published a book in 2000 entitled Passion For Truth. In that book, he wrote: “The Senate should resist, if not refuse to confirm Supreme Court nominees who refuse to answer questions on fundamental issues. In voting on whether or not to confirm a nominee, senators should not have to gamble or guess about a candidate’s philosophy, but should be able to judge on the basis of the candidate’s expressed views.”
I'd also like to remind you, Senator, that contrary to the talking points of many Republicans, and George Bush himself, the President of the United States is NOT entitled to an up or down vote on any nominee.
Sen. Feinstein, because I am not a constituent of yours, I do not expect to get a response to this message. But I felt compelled to write to you today. As a resident of the District of Columbia, I pay federal taxes just like every other American citizen. However, I have no representation in the United States Senate. I have no Senator from the District of Columbia, working on behalf of my interests, who I can write to and urge to vote against Samuel Alito.
Yet, if Judge Alito is confirmed, the decisions he makes on the Court will affect me just like they affect other American citizens who do have representation in the Senate.
Lastly, I am afraid that many Democrats are resisting a filibuster of Samuel Alito, for political expediency (fear of backlash from certain constituents). I believe many Senators know filibustering Judge Alito's nomination is the right thing to do, but fear backlash.
So I would like to leave you with these words from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and urge you to filibuster Samuel Alito.
"On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
|