Dear Editor:
I would like to publicly applaud the two New Jersey Senators, Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, for refusing to go along with the recent compromise to preserve the filibuster, while still allowing all of the current judicial nominees to receive a full up or down vote in the Senate. Three judges in particular, Pryor, Owens and Brown have records that consistently rule against consumers, people with disabilities and minority rights in general. Like a bunch of timid poker players, the majority of Democrats in the Senate couldn’t find a strategy to play the hand they were dealt, and folded much too early.
In my opinion, nothing has changed with regard to the threat to eradicate the filibuster. Republicans Bill Frist and Mitch McConnel are already warning the opposition that if it tries to prevent a future judge from being appointed (and here, we are talking about a Supreme Court nomination), the nuclear option will be placed on the table once again. This was merely a short-term break from the threat of doing away with a vital Senate rule that preserves the freedom of the minority, so that Republicans could ensure that three of the most radical right-wing judges could get through to the bench, in order to issue a lifetime of decisions that chip away at civil and minority rights. Both parties know that given an up or down vote in the Senate with a Republican majority means that these judges will make it to their judicial positions.
I am going to continue to apply pressure on the Democrats to vote “no” on the judges, as well a contacting the “moderate” Republicans who may be bold enough to break away from their party ‘s line. I have already made my phone calls to Corzine and Lautenberg, thanking them for their opposition to this co-called compromise and urging them to continue their important stance against the dangerous judges who will undue the legal protects that minorities have fought so hard to win.
Democrats tend to think that if the Republicans are still complaining about something, then a compromise must have been won. But the opposition will always fight to gain more power, no matter how much it wins each round. I have to make the point that I am so sick of the Democrats who keep redrawing the line in the sand, father and farther to the Right, and then point to their side of the line as if they’ve made some accomplishment. I’m very proud that NJ Senators remained accountable to the people on this fight, and see the compromise for what it really is: a win for tyranny of the majority.
Sincerely,
Angie Mielec