Stop the Nuclear Option
By Mike Hersh, May 18, 2005
Filibuster is a funny word, but there's nothing funny about what the Bush Administration and their extreme right wing Senate friends are trying to do to us. People for the American Way (PFAW) - a group of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and others - is working to protect us from one-party government and abuse of power called "the Nuclear Option." You can help out by signing the petition: save the filibuster, but you can do more.
Anyone near DC or who can get to DC May 18-20 should work at the People for the American Way office answering the Filibuster Hotlines. I've helped out, and I'm going in again today. It's important work and it's fun speaking with informed people from all around America who feel strongly that we must preserve the filibuster. PFAW needs 10 to 12 people at least. Come to Dupont Circle and put in a few hours. Kristin and the rest of the staff are great people. (See more information below.)
Don't fall for the right wing hype. The Senate already voted on almost 100% all of Bush's judges, but the extreme right wing wants to change the Senate rules and ignore the Constitution to turn the Senate into a rubber stamp. They want Bush to get whatever he wants, and all of the proposed judges approved - even those criticized by Bush's Republican Attorney General for ethical violations. For example, Priscilla "Enron" Owen took money from that criminal corporation and then ruled in their favor on cases involving Enron! Is that that kind of bad judgment and judicial favoritism we want on our highest courts?
The Senate already approved almost every Bush judge, but the right wing is only satisfied with 100% obedience. Their temper tantrum threatens to ruin the Senate and turn back the clock on the Environment, Education, Civil and Equal Rights and many other rights. The right wing is demanding approval of the few judges so extreme they don't think the government has any reason to help anyone - except maybe Dick Cheney and other right wing millionaires. The right wing fringe of the Republican Party wants to do away with Student Loans, Pell Grants, campaign finance laws, a woman's right to choose and so much more.
A few key Republican Senators have to stand up for America and principle, and refuse to go along with the extremists in their party. You can help. If you live in PA, you can call Sen. Specter and tell him to support 200+ years of tradition and the American Way of Life. Demand that he vote to save the filibuster - and the Senate and the USA - from this right wing power grab. If you live in Maine, call Sen. Collins and Sen. Snowe and demand they do the same. Sen. Lugar may listen if enough Indianans tell him not to give up on the American Way. Both Ohio Senators, Sen. Hagel of Nebraska, and a few other Senators have to vote for tradition, principle and the Constitution, or we're in huge trouble. Find out more here: http://www.pfaw.org/.
We know these extremists want to impose their narrow religious views on you, and control what you do in the privacy of your own home and bedroom. They plan to reverse the separation of church and state to impose prayer in school and ban teaching of evolution. They want to overturn Roe v. Wade and outlaw all abortions - even in cases of rape and incest, even when the pregnancy is likely to kill the woman and the fetus. We know that's the main reason the right wingers are threatening to wreck our Senate. But it doesn't end there.
Bush says he wants to appoint Supreme Court justices like Antonin Scalia who says people should be subject to arrest for engaging in oral sex, and gay bashing should be legalized. That was the law of the land until the Supreme Court threw it out in their 2003 Lawrence v. Texas ruling which overturned the earlier Bowers v. Hardwick decision.
Six of the nine Supreme Court Justices decided "The Texas statute [which outlawed sex between gays and lesbians, but allowed the exact same conduct between straight couples] furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual." In his dissent, Scalia claimed there is a "legitimate state interest" in controlling what gay and lesbian people do in their bedrooms - and says he would empower government to spy on you to make sure you're not doing anything some right winger considers "immoral and unacceptable" with your lover or spouse.
Scalia supports "prohibition" of anything he calls "deviate sexual intercourse" and Clarence Thomas - Bush's other "favorite Justice" - joined Scalia in this dissent. Bush wants a Supreme Court packed with extremists like Scalia and Thomas. Do you? This isn't ancient history. Scalia wrote this a few years ago. We're talking about what the radical right wants right now.
Once the right wing starts turning back the clock, there's no telling when they'd stop. They could outlaw use of birth control - even by married couples. Some right wing pharmacists already refuse to sell birth control pills, but extremists aren't happy with that. They want to outlaw the sale and use of all birth control by anyone and everyone in the USA.
Radical Republicans remember when people could get arrested for use, sale or even the possession of condoms - that was just 40 years ago, until the Supreme Court struck down this bizarre ban in the Griswold v. Connecticut case in 1965! I'm not sure about you, but I don't think "big government" has any business monitoring our bedrooms this way.
Some Republicans claim the filibuster is racist, but that's extreme hypocrisy. Many right wingers admit they plan to outlaw any policies and programs that promote diversity in higher education and employment. Many right wingers think the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts are unconstitutional, and they can't wait to get rid of laws which protect basic rights for minorities to vote, work and live as first class citizens. If they get rid of the Senate tradition called the filibuster, the racists in the Republican Party will run wild.
If they get the Supreme Court and federal judges they want, the right wing could and might outlaw marriage between people of different races, as some states did less than 40 years ago. The Supreme Court's ruling in Loving v. Virginia ended that racist law in 1967. These right wingers might reverse the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision so they could outlaw Whites and African Americans staying in the same hotels, swimming in the same pools, even using the same drinking fountains as was the case in America barely 50 years ago.
PFAW explains what this is really all about. "PFAWF's new ads will air throughout the week and will ask senators to do what is right and stand up to Frist and the fringe of the Republican Party. This is truly our last chance to save the filibuster...."
Don't Let Republican Leadership "Go Nuclear" on Supreme Court
We could lose our fight against a right-wing Supreme Court takeover before a vacancy and nomination occur if Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist can get 50 votes to pass the "nuclear option," which would target the 200-year-old Senate filibuster - a tool that empowers 41 or more senators to prevent a narrow majority from abusing its power.
Frist needs the votes of half the Senate plus Vice President Cheney's tie-breaker to succeed. That means we must win the votes of all 44 Democratic senators, the one Independent, and at least six courageous Republicans to stop him. That's why we need you to sign the petition that will go to senators whose vote we need to win this fight - and then pass it on! We will hand-deliver all of the collected signatures to key Republican Senators, and deliver the signatures from your state to your own Senators.
It's come down to this: of the 51 votes required to defeat the "nuclear option", 48 Senators - including 3 principled Republicans - have committed to voting to preserve the filibuster. We need your assistance to help persuade at least three more senators. PFAWF's new ads will air throughout the week and will ask senators to do what is right and stand up to Frist and the fringe of the Republican Party. This is truly our last chance to save the filibuster - please help us keep these ads on the air.
You can help by using your cell Phone in PFAW's "'Nuclear Option' Mass Immediate Response" effort:
With the Nuclear Option's timing in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's hands, there won't be enough warning to send out an email alert the moment he drops the bomb on the Senate. But we can deliver a text message straight to your mobile that embeds a Senate phone number based on your state. So please take a moment to fill out the short form here: https://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18708.
By giving us your cell phone number, we will text message you as soon as Senate Republicans trigger the "nuclear option." Embedded in that text message will be a link to the Senate switchboard. With the push of a couple buttons, your call - along with thousands of others - goes right through to the corridors of power demanding preservation of the filibuster.
This is a brand new technology, and this is the first time it is being used on a large scale. (Don't worry: we will NEVER send you spam or disclose your number to anyone else; in fact, we won't even send you any more text messages without first sending you an e-mail like this one, asking you to opt in.)
PFAW's Kristin Bateman explains: [Wednesday] morning, the Senate will begin debate on the nomination of Priscilla Owen (a previously-filibustered extreme nominee), meaning Frist is beginning the process of going "nuclear." The phones are ringing off the hook here as concerned Americans from PA, ME, and NE call in to get the tools they need to tell their senators to save the filibuster and vote down Frist's underhanded "nuclear option."
We need your help to take these calls. Let me know if you can come in!
What: Answering the Filibuster Hotlines
When: Wednesday, May 18, 9am-9pm
Thursday, May 19, 9am-9pm
Friday, May 20, 9am-6pm
Where: PFAW
offices - 2000 M Street NW - 5th floor
Dupont Circle (Red Line) Farragut
West (Blue/Orange Lines)
RSVP: Kristin Bateman - (202) 467-2393 or volunteer@pfaw.org.
We would really love your help during these last critical days. Hope to see you soon!
PFAW Media Advisory - May 13, 2005
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION LAUNCHES THREE NEW ADS IN FILIBUSTER FIGHT ENDGAME
Washington, DC - People For the American Way Foundation will launch three new ads in the television battle over the filibuster, as the clash over the 200-year-old Senate practice nears a historic vote.
The three ads are targeted to moderate Senate Republicans considered key to the outcome of the battle in Pennsylvania, Alaska and Maine, and will begin airing in those markets, Washington, DC and on national cable television on Sunday and Monday.
The sound of a ticking clock over a stark white background asks the Senators to demonstrate their political independence, and vote to protect the Constitution and the 200-year-old system of checks and balances.
"These ads appeal to the fundamental respect Americans feel for the wisdom of the founding fathers. They established a system where no one party can ever gain absolute power, and where minority voices are always protected and will be heard," said Ralph G. Neas, PFAWF President.
"The nuclear option vote will define the future of the Senate and the future of representative democracy. It will also define these Senators, as they decide the most important institutional vote in the history of the Senate."
As soon as Tuesday, the Senate is poised to consider several Bush Administration appellate court nominees who were filibustered during the last session of Congress. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is threatening to detonate the "nuclear option" using one of these nominees at any point after the nominations come to the floor.
PFAWF is continuing to run ads produced earlier in the campaign in target markets, and plans to spend roughly $1 million in the coming week.
"We remain confident that a bipartisan majority of Senators will reject the nuclear option and vote to preserve our constitutional system of checks and balances," Neas said.
Click here http://media.pfaw.org/5-13-05/ALASKA.mov to view the Alaska ad, here http://media.pfaw.org/5-13-05/MAINE.mov for the Maine ad, and here http://media.pfaw.org/5-13-05/PENN.mov for the Pennsylvania ad.
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