Harry Reid - Senate To Address Sotomayor Nomination Tuesday

[Bohemian]

Full Senate Takes Up Sotomayor Confirmation THIS Tuesday August 4th, 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009 11:45 AM


WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate will take up Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation as the first Latina justice on the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the chamber's Democratic leader said Thursday.

"Tuesday, we're going to move to the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor," Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the floor of the chamber.

Many senators were expected to want to speak on the historic nomination, making it unclear when a final confirmation vote would take place.

President Barack Obama's Democrats have, at least on paper, the 60 votes to hand her the lifetime appointment, and a handful of Republicans have said they will join them.

The Princeton- and Yale-educated jurist would be the second woman currently on the court, alongside Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and only the third to serve on the bench including retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sotomayor is not expected to tip the balance of the court if, as expected, she replaces retiring justice David Souter on the nine-seat high court that is the final arbiter of the U.S. Constitution.

But given the advancing age of some of the other justices, Obama appears likely to have the chance to fill another vacancy, leaving his imprint on the bench possibly for decades.

The court is called to decide some of the most contentious disputes in politics and society, including abortion, gun rights, freedom of speech, and controversial national security tactics.


Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., continues to state that he will vote against Sotomayor, saying her speeches and writings indicate "dramatic expressions of an activist view of judging," the Associated Press reports. The announcement continues to indicate the vote on Sotomayor will likely split largely along party lines, according to the NLJ. Some Republicans who are unsure of their Sotomayor vote may be opting to vote no due to opposition by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America and others...

The NRA, GOA, SAF and others have made it very clear that SOTOMAYOR WILL BE WORSE THEN JUSTICE SOUTER, she has been nominated to replace...

OPPOSE SOTOMAYOR!

Faxes and Phone Calls Are Imperative...

U.S. Senate: Senators Home

Don't Forget these RINO's Sold Us Out On The Gun Ban Harold Koh Nomination Too!
Ask them to redeem themselves, even if they are not your Senator(s)...
Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Of the aforementioned 8 the following are also stating their intention to confirm Sotomayor...
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Don't give these RINO's any peace...

RINO Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is also stating he will vote for Sotomayor!
Don't let this go unchallenged!
.: United States Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina :: Contact :.

.: United States Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina :: Home :.

We must hang together or assuredly we shall hang separately. -- Benjamin Franklin

Eight Republicans Help Confirm a Hard-Core Gun Banner

[matthewaynelson]

... Full Senate Takes Up Sotomayor Confirmation THIS Tuesday August 4th, 2009

Don't forget... Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Don't let this go unchallenged!

I continue to write Senator Martinez and express my reasons for encouraging a NO vote on Sotomayor; will continue to do so as long as there is a possibility of swaying his decision. I also emailed Senator Graham following his speech last week regarding his YES vote for Sotomayor in the Judiciary Committee. AND, I just emailed the seven (eight including Martinez) from the list above. Email attached...

Senator,

I am writing you today regarding the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

Senator Graham, in his speech regarding Sotomayor said, “… her speeches did bug the hell out of me. Not because of what she was saying, but because she was a judge when she was giving these speeches. She embraced some ideas that were really unnerving.”

Senator Graham went on to explain that he was certain some of his speeches have likely resulted in people on the opposition side feeling discomfort due to content from time to time.

But, there is a major difference between that of an elected Senator, and that of a lifetime appointed Justice of the SCOTUS. If a Senator gives a bad speech, or begins taking positions that WE THE PEOPLE do not like, we can at the next election vote them out of office! If a Justice rules poorly due to bias, WE THE PEOPLE are stuck with that Justice until they die or retire. And, sadly… the American people will be stuck with those bad judicial decisions far past the lifetime of a bad judge.

Sotomayor’s belief that "the Court is the best place for making policy" is extremely alarming. This belief is at odds with our system of government. Policy is made by the legislative branch. The job of the judicial branch is to explain the laws of this country under the Constitution. The job of a Supreme Court Justice is to decide if laws are Constitutional (that they DO NOT go against the Constitution). There is NO policy making as a Supreme Court Justice. The fact that Judge Sotomayor believes it is her job to make policy not only disqualifies her for the highest court in the land, it should also disqualify her to be allowed to remain as a US Appellate Court Judge.

In addition, there should be equal concern that Sotomayor believes her opinions would be better (or more valid) based on her race and gender. Personal experience, race or gender should not have any bearing on how a Justice deliberates matters. Decisions should be based solely on whether a matter is Constitutional or not. Her attitude is in complete odds with the oath she would take to become a Supreme Court Justice (to solemnly swear to administer justice without respect to persons and to equal right to poor and rich).

Her words and attitudes leave me discouraged and disappointed in this nomination that would appoint her to the highest court in the land.

I'm asking that you and your colleagues do everything in your power to STOP the affirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Further, I ask that you and the rest of your colleagues be diligent in stopping any nomination that would allow any person to be confirmed who demonstrates an inability to uphold the oath they would take to become a Supreme Court Justice.

Please make it clear to President Obama that you will not allow anything less than the very best to sit as a Supreme Court Justice. This is not a matter of playing politics. It’s about honoring the oath you took as a Senator, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. An activist judge ruling from bias is a real and present danger to the Constitution!

Further, this is not a racial or sexist matter. I would be very happy to see a Latino female confirmed—but, that appointee needs to be a person who is committed to upholding the Constitution of the United States of America and a person who will administer justice without respect to persons or in any way influenced by their own personal experiences.

There is also great concern for the gun owners of this country. Throughout her career, Sotomayor has shown that she opposes the right to keep and bear arms, denies there is a constitutional right to self-defense, and has frequently ignored constitutional and statutory precedents.

Senator Sessions said Sotomayor's writings and speeches amount to "dramatic expressions of an activist view of judging," and added that a few of her rulings sidestepped key constitutional issues and ignored bedrock principles. He said he believed Sotomayor would be a vote for a "new kind of ideological judging."

Senator Grassley said he's not sure Sotomayor understands the rights Americans have under the Constitution, or that she will refrain from expanding or restricting those rights based on her personal preferences. He has grave concerns about Sotomayor.

Many agree Sotomayor's stance on gun rights is a key reason for voting against her. She refused to weigh in during her confirmation hearings on whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to states as well as the federal government, a question on which the high court has yet to rule. Sotomayor was part of an appeals court panel that said this year that the amendment doesn't restrict state laws, citing previous Supreme Court precedent.

The National Rifle Association has announced that it would "score" her confirmation vote, calling her "hostile" to the Second Amendment. That means the NRA will include the vote on Sotomayor in its annual candidate ratings, which heavily influence voters in key battleground states.

Additionally, the anti-abortion rights group Americans United for Life has also weighed in against Sotomayor, writing to senators urging a "no" vote and announcing that it, too, would include her confirmation vote in its annual scorecard.

The group said it was concerned Sotomayor would "undermine any efforts by our elected representatives to pass even the most widely accepted regulations on abortion and circumvent the will of the people."

If "elections matter" as Senator Graham said in his speech about Sotomayor, it is of utmost import that activist judges not be allowed to serve lifetime appointments where they can circumvent the will of the people.

I do not live in your fine State and you do not represent me as a Senator. BUT, your vote regarding Judge Sonia Sotomayor when the full Senate looks at this matter will impact me as an American.

I strongly urge you to vote NO on affirming Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Thank you for your time and consideration. Blessings…

With prayer, persistence... and... a little bit of luck, we might yet have an impact on the outcome!