Eliminating the filibuster would violate the Founders' intent, undermining the essential principles of checks and balances which we need to maintain our freedom. Federal judges serve for life and provide the last word on countless critical Constitutional issues.

Who thinks GW Bush is perfect? He can and does make mistakes - some of them extremely costly. Just because he and some in his party think a nominee is qualified does not make it so. Some of his nominees are simply not qualified to rule on the most important issues facing Americans. We cannot afford the damage they would inflict with their extreme views.

Even if the few Bush nominees in question weren't so extreme, so hostile to civil rights, women's rights, the environment, consumers, employees, privacy, Social Security, and so much more, I believe in democracy for our republic, not one-party rule - much less autocracy. The Senate's independence is at stake. Bush and his supporters have no authority to demand confirmation or dictate procedures to the Senate. This is a Constitutional Republic, not a dictatorship of Republicans. Help thwart this latest right-wing power grab.

I just signed MoveOn PAC's emergency petition to stop the "nuclear option" the far right wing's plan to seize absolute power to stack our courts - and I hope you will sign too. I've also been working with People for the American Way http://www.pfaw.org at their filibuster hotlines on this issue, and I hope you sign their petition as well. If you live in the DC area, you can volunteer at the PFAW "Nerve Center" to make and answer calls and You can also join the MoveOn filibuster rally. PFAW's volunteer coordinator Kristin Bateman writes:

We need your help this week to help persuade the remaining undecided senators to stand up to right-wing pressure and vote to preserve our checks and balances. Help save the filibuster! Monday, May 23 to Thursday, May 26, 9am-9pm and Friday, May 27, 9am-6pm at the PFAW offices, 2000 M Street NW, 5th floor, Dupont Circle (Red Line), Farragut West (Blue/Orange Lines)
Please RSVP: Kristin Bateman, (202) 467-2393 or volunteer@pfaw.org

As you know, we need the votes of at least six Republican senators in order to halt Frist's underhanded plan. Thankfully, three senators, Senators Chafee (R-RI), McCain (R-AZ), and Snowe (R-ME), have all indicated they will vote against the "nuclear option." And a handful of Republican senators remain undecided and have expressed reservations about the "nuclear option."

Help out this week as we work to win the support of these still-undecided senators. We will take calls from concerned Americans who call in our Filibuster Hotlines - and we will get those people to sign on to the Save the Filibuster petition and give them the tools they need to call their senators directly. And we will continue to reach out to PFAW members in key states and urge them to get in touch with their senators as soon as possible.

I've worked the phones several days, and it's incredible how passionate and well-informed the callers are. They need our help to make their case to these few Senators before it's too late. You can help out all next week. Join us!

You can also join the rally MoveOn is sponsoring Tuesday noon til Wednesday noon in front of the Supreme Court building on 2nd St. and East Capitol. Email Christine Yorty at cayorty@aol.com or Karen Kohn Bradley at karen@democracycellproject.net. Or just sign up at
http://www.moveonpac.org/events/index.html?action_id=17

After I signed their petition, MoveOn wrote:

Thank you for signing our emergency petition to save the courts. Your name has been added to the petition and your comments will be delivered shortly to your Senators. This is one of the most important petitions we've ever done. The final 'nuclear' vote is still too close to call -- if we can raise our voice loud enough in the next 72 hours to swing just three more votes we can win this thing.

Please take a minute to forward this petition to at least five friends or family members who you think might sign. Their names and comments will combine with yours and thousands of others', going straight to every single senator every 3 hours, every day, from Monday morning until the final vote. You can help spread the word by forwarding the sample message below.

Starting Monday, the petition will be delivered straight to Congress every three hours until the final vote, and many of our comments will be read aloud on the Senate floor. Please sign right now at: http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear

Why is this an emergency? This Tuesday, the Senate will vote on Republican Leader Bill Frist's "nuclear option" to break the rules of the Senate and give the Republican Party absolute control over appointing federal judges.

For 200 years the minority's right to filibuster has kept our courts fair, by making sure that federal judges needed to get at least some support from both sides of the aisle before they were given life time appointments. If Frist eliminates the filibuster, his next step would be to force far right partisan judges onto the powerful U.S. Courts of Appeals.

The real targets, however, are the four seats on the Supreme Court likely to become vacant in the next four years. With that much power on the Supreme Court, the far right could strike down decades of progress on labor rights, environmental protections, reproductive rights, and privacy.

The "nuclear option" will live or die by a final vote, probably on Tuesday, and the vote is still way too close to call. There are at least 6 moderate Republicans still on the fence and only 3 more votes needed to win. If we can get enough of our voices into congress and into the streets in the next 72 hours, we can still save our courts. Please take a minute to join me and sign the emergency petition today: http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear