Any Republican But Specter For Chairman Of The Judiciary Committee

The idea of having Arlen Specter as chairman of the judiciary committee just chafes me and you want to know why?

Because here we have a RINO who was pushed hard by a real conservative, Pat Toomey, in the primaries this year. But there was nothing for Senator Jeffords…oh sorry, sorry, Senator Specter to worry about because one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Rick Santorum, along with President Bush, rode to his rescue and helped him defeat the real conservative in the race.

Then, after his nomination was secured, Specter turned right around and gave a big “screw you” to the party. As Robert Novak points out,

“No sooner had Specter been narrowly nominated than he turned leftward, declaring his independence from Bush and refusing to help two GOP congressional challengers in Pennsylvania who had a chance to win but went down to defeat.

That was bad enough, but after Specter won the election, he really showed his true colors,

“In his post-election press conference, as reported by the Associated Press, he declared: “When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, that is unlikely.” He warned the president of facing filibusters, apparently without help from Chairman Specter.

…The Republican base would have been even more infuriated to read the full press conference transcript confirming Specter’s litmus test: “I have said that bluntly during the course of the campaign and before. When the [Philadelphia] Inquirer endorsed me, they quoted my statement that Roe v. Wade was inviolate.” He suggested that “nobody can be confirmed” who does not accept abortion rights. Thus, Specter’s and John Kerry’s positions are indistinguishable.”

Conservatives turned out to vote for George Bush in part because they felt it was vitally important to make sure that if there were vacancies on the Supreme Court over the next four years (and some people have speculated there may be three), they’d be filled with conservative justices like Scalia, Thomas, & Rehnquist who believe in judicial restraint. That’s something that George Bush promised in his 2000 and 2004 campaigns and what do you know, our guy won!

So then what happens? We have a guy like Arlen Specter, who voted against Judge Bork, who in essence promised to try to torpedo exactly the sort of judges the overwhelming majority of the party wants, about to become the chairman of the judiciary committee based on what….seniority? Is this a political party or a teacher’s union?

How does the GOP win the election and then put a guy who promised to thwart the will of the majority of the party in charge of the committee that’ll be selecting Supreme Court Judges? If the situation were reversed, what do you think the chances are that the Democrats would put a pro-life Senator in charge of the judiciary committee after he promised to fight against judges who supported Roe v. Wade? That’s right, nada, zilch, zero!

Ya know, I’m all for having a big tent party, having diversity of views, and trying to keep the inter-party squabbling to a minimum, but I draw the line at having someone who essentially sides with John Kerry on judges running the judiciary committee. What good is having a Republican majority when “our guys” aren’t even willing to really fight to have conservative judges on the Supreme Court? If they’re willing to give in on that, what in the world are they willing to stand up for? I know, I know….pork for their states.

Well, that’s just not going to cut it and if you agree, I would encourage you to contact your Senator, drop a line to the White House, & let the members of the Judiciary Committee know how you feel.

Speak now or forever hold your peace when Senator Specter starts working to block the President’s judges…

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