judges and stuff

Dear matthew, Repairing the damage to our Constitution and our standing in the world will take years, but RIGHT NOW certain senators can stop more of President Bush's dangerous judicial nominees from getting lifetime seats on the federal courts. As the Republican tantrum over unconfirmed nominees continues, key Democratic senators are starting to echo what we've been saying: in these months leading up to a presidential election, controversial nominees need not and should not be considered for confirmation. Hundreds of Bush judges are already doing plenty of damage to your rights and legal protections. Tell senators on the Judiciary Committee to stand up to Bush and his Senate allies by invoking the well-established Senate tradition of not considering controversial judicial nominees in the months leading up to a presidential election. It's urgent that we get as many people as possible to add their name to this fight via our petition at http://www.pfaw.org/go/EnoughBushJudges. Please sign now and then do your part to help make sure others join the petition as well. In a post on The Hill's Congress Blog on Friday, PFAW Legal Director Judith E. Schaeffer pointed out the hypocrisy of Republicans who are trying to create a crisis where there is none, using the example of one particularly controversial nominee: Senate Republicans are trying to turn Peter Keisler, a co-founder of the Federalist Society and a former law clerk for Robert Bork, into a poster boy for alleged foot-dragging by Democrats on Bush's judicial nominees. Keisler has been nominated by Bush to fill the 11th seat on the D.C. Circuit, one of the most important appellate courts in the country. Back when President Clinton tried to fill this very same seat, Senate Republicans blocked those efforts, claiming that the court's caseload was not heavy enough to justify having 11 judges. Well, that caseload has decreased in the interim, yet Republicans are now stomping their feet, demanding that Keisler be confirmed. Senators on the Judiciary Committee need to reject the Republicans' ridiculous charade, the real purpose of which is to energize their Radical Right base (whose pet issue is of course the federal judiciary). Click here to tell them: http://www.pfaw.org/go/EnoughBushJudges The country is faced with pressing needs on which the Senate needs to focus. Senators should NOT be spending their time helping George W. Bush expand his legacy by packing the courts with more bad judges. -- Your Voice Against Bush's Judges, People For the American Way