Below is a letter to the editor I just sent. I would ask that if you share my concerns about the behavior of Senate Republicans, you take action by sending a letter to the editor and communicating your concerns to your Senators. Senator Lincoln Chafee is the Republican Senator from Rhode Island and is generally considered to be a moderate.
Letter to the Editor of The Providence Journal:
I want to encourage Senator Chafee to break ranks with those in his party who want to end the right to filibuster commonly known as the "nuclear option". The filibuster is the means by which debate can be extended on controversial issues. It is the means by which the minority can be heard and the Republicans want to silence that dissent.
Doing away with the filibuster will allow Senate Republicans to make lifetime judicial appointments such as the current nominee, Janice Rodgers Brown of California. Judge Brown is nominated for the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals, a common stepping stone to the Supreme Court. She follows an extremist judicial philosophy that calls for the courts to block Congress from guaranteeing such things as the 40 hour work week, the minimum wage, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
Without silencing the minority, President Bush has already gotten 95% of his judicial nominations approved. As Senator Barbara Boxer pointed out in a recent speech to journalists, most of us would be thrilled by a 95% success rate. She continued that the only sort of person who would not be happy with 95% is someone who is seeking absolute power.
This nation cannot afford to hand absolute power over to the right wing of the Republican party.
Senator Chafee, it is time to take a stand.
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