I wanted to share with you an email Senator Reid sent out last night:
From the email:
The Republicans are arrogant with power. If they don't like the rules, they break them. If they don't like someone standing in their way, they attack them. We have some Republican's in the Senate who are considering throwing out 200 years of Senate history in order to pack the courts with right wing judges. And we have a Republican Leader in the House of Representatives who attacks judges who don't agree with him and corrupts our government by running roughshod over the ethics committee.
Full email below the fold:
Dear Friend,
Nuclear winter could come as early as this spring if Republicans follow through on their threats to launch the nuclear option. Republicans angered that Senate Democrats have rejected 10 of the President's 214 judicial nominees and desiring absolute power want to end a 200 year-old Senate right to engage in unlimited debate.
They want to go "nuclear" and turn the Senate into a rubber stamp for President Bush. They want to silence Senate Democrats - the one remaining check on President Bush's power. If they can do away with debate in the Senate, they can get whatever they want - right-wing Supreme Court Justices, Social Security privatization and tax breaks for the wealthy that will plunge us deeper in debt.
But Senate Democrats are going to fight them every step of the way. And this fight will be different than any other fight in the history of the Senate - because it will include you. Senate Democrats need your help, and that is why I will use your names and comments as part of our debate on the floor of the United State Senate. Imagine all of us standing together in the Senate Chamber during this debate. YOU can make it happen.
Stand with Senate Democrats against this Republican abuse of power:
http://democrats.senate.gov/filibuster-form.cfm
The nuclear option is a shocking power grab in its own right. More stunning is that President Bush has asked Republican Senators to stake their reputations on and break the rules for such shockingly unqualified judges.
For example, Janice Rogers Brown was twice rated not qualified by the California Judicial Nominations Evaluation (JNE) Commission, The Commission's report indicated that "nothing in [Brown's] legal experience [distinguished] her from other average practitioners," and some of Brown's opinions contained "gratuitous" personal opinions. In addition her opinions on race discrimination and on the rights of the disabled are nothing short of draconian.
The Republicans are arrogant with power. If they don't like the rules, they break them. If they don't like someone standing in their way, they attack them. We have some Republicans in the Senate considering throwing out 200 years of Senate history in order to pack the courts with right wing judges. And we have a Republican Leader in the House of Representatives who attacks judges who don't agree with him and corrupts our government by running roughshod over the ethics committee.
It's a complete abuse of power by the Republicans and if they can get away with this on judges, they will get away with this on legislation like Social Security too.
There is no distinction.
This is about more than a few unqualified judges, this is about protecting the rights of disabled Americans to work, the rights of minorities to vote, the rights of every American to have clean air, safe drinking water and be heard in Washington.
Thank you,
Harry Reid