A message from Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, emeritus of Corpus Christi, Texas:
The euphoria we felt Tuesday night and Wednesday morning was cut short by the outrageous remarks made by newly reelected Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter at his press conference on Wednesday. Specter warned President Bush “to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning.” The “considerations” Specter mentioned were that “Bush’s conservative judicial picks” would not be confirmed.
Specter is in line to become the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. As Chairman he would largely control the confirmation process for the President’s judicial nominees. Specter voted against the confirmation of Judge Bork and the impeachment of President Clinton. He is supported by NARAL. He must not become the next Chairman.
Before January Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will pick the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Specter has the seniority that would normally entitle him to be named the Chairman. But, Senator Bill Frist has the power the waive the Senate Rules and appoint someone else as Chairman. Arlen Specter MUST NOT become the Chairman and be in a position to negate all that has been accomplished in the election of President Bush.
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their Country.
Send a message to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist by telephone (202-22-3344), email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)), mail (461 Dirksen Senate Office Building / Wahington, DC 20510) or FAX (202-228-1264) along the following lines:
Senator Arlen Specter must not be appointed Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. You have the power to waive the Senate seniority rule and to appoint someone else. Do not let the election victory of President Bush be endangered by the appointment of Senator Specter who has already warned the President not to appoint conservative judges.
The time to act is NOW!
I sent both an email and a faxed letter to Frist and cc’ed my senators, Kit Bond and Jim Talent.
Specter has disqualified himself by his own words.
A report from Specter’s web site denies that he made any such warnings to President Bush. Check it out (this was reported yesterday on Drudge). I wonder what happened—why such a thing would have been reported about him?
Bryan Jerabek, I watched and heard him say this in a TV coverage of his press conference.
Renatus
Frist phone number is: 202-224-3344
Done. Sent an EMail to Frist reminding him of why we elected President Bush and that we don’t need a ‘Republican’ chairman who seeks to block the President’s appointees.
Bryan Jerabek, I watched and heard him say this in a TV coverage of his press conference.
Thanks. You can call me “Bryan”. I just read any article on Yahoo News that indicates that the comments on Specter’s web site are “backtracking” on his part. I guess he got quite a backlash from his remarks earlier this week. So, that explains the apparent contradictions in coverage.
I think that when Specter was running in the republican primary in Pennsylvania agains a pro-life opponent, President Bush went in and campaigned for Specter.
Spector is saying that “No CATHOLICS Need Apply.”
Alfredo, you are correct! Bush/Rove got Santorum to join Bush in Philly to endorse Specter. They probably did this to gain PA for Bush. I did not work. Specter barely won reelection and Bush lost PA. Toomey would have beat Specter in the primary if Bush had not intervened. Now Bush has to live with the consequences of his mistake.
Renatus is exactly right.
First, I have called, faxed and emailed Sen. Frist. I have forwarded emails to encourage others to do so. I even posted the correct phone number for Frist above.
But we cleaning up after the mess Bush made.
Bush endorsed a pro-abortion candidate like Specter in the Republican primary when there was a very pro-life challenger, Rep. Pat Toomey. Bush should have stayed silent, at the very least. I would like to know why everyone is suddenly so shocked about Specter. Why is everyone so surprised that Specter is in line for the judiciary chair? He was no friend of life or even the Republican party for a long time.
Also, Bush did not actively support very pro-life John Thune in South Dakota. Bush did not campaign once for Thune, and Thune barely won. Thune was going up against the leader of the abortionists in the senate. Where was Bush? Defeating Daschle will have a bigger impact on judicial nominees than which republican is the judiciay chair.
(What is the biggest impact of defeating Daschle? Democratic senators from red states see what happens when they are simply obstructionist. Dem senators will now be willing to work with the majority, unless they are from very safe blue states.)
I was angry that Bush supported Specter long before this happened. There must have been political calculations to back Specter, as Renatus sayas, and not overtly support Thune. Bush made his bed, and now we may have to sleep in it.
– Jim C.
The message Bush and Frist must get is that Specter cannot be allowed to obstruct pro-life judicial nominees. How they get the job done is up to them. It’s obvious that someone has already gotten a powerful message to Specter.
Charles, you say correctly that “How they get the job done is up to them.” But I suggest that it is also up to “us.” If we who worked so hard for Bush’s election now sit back and do nothing – he and we will live with the consequences of a Specter Judiciary Chairmanship. That is a spectre I care not to see! Renatus