Senate Democrats killed nomination, democracy dies

It is appalling to witness elected officials abuse our nation's democracy. Our country is fortunate in that we have judges who promote justice throughout the country. What is unfortunate, however, is that a few politically charged individuals exploit their power and prevent qualified judges from serving on the federal bench.\nRecently the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee refused to send Charles Pickering's nomination for Circuit Court judge to the full Senate for a vote. Most people do not realize that this is entirely unconstitutional. Our Constitution provides that the president nominates judges and that the Senate members vote on that nomination.\nThe Constitution does not, however, allow committees to prevent other Senate members from voting. The Democrat-controlled judiciary committee refused to pass down Pickering's nomination because they knew he would get enough votes to pass. So what else could they do?\nIn the past, they would simply resort to a type of blackmail, threatening to withdraw support from upcoming legislation. This time they began with slander, accusing Pickering of being racist. Seeing this would not work, the leftists had to pull another uncouth maneuver and refuse to allow all senators to vote on his nomination at all.\nThe fears behind Pickering's nomination do not concern his qualifications, but instead, his ideological views, particularly on abortion. Charles Pickering is "well-qualified" according to the American Bar Association. In 1990, the Senate (including members of today's Judiciary Committee)unanimously approved Pickering for a district court position.\nIn 1973, nine men set an unconstitutional precedent by denying the right to life for every individual. Because this precedent resulted in a fuzzy reading of the Constitution, the justices built themselves a predicament resembling a house of cards. Almost thirty years later, this unfounded right to privacy, or rather, the right to terminate a pregnancy, might soon collapse. The Constitution does not support this premise by any means, and those who continue to support its legality must resort to drastic measures to keep the house standing. The committee's refusal to allow the Senate to fulfill its democratic duties may help leftist causes in the meantime, but eventually citizens like you and me are going to replace the Judiciary Committee with officials who honor the Constitution and respect the constituents they represent.\nThe media's representation of this scandal is perhaps the most hypocritical. Little news coverage has been devoted to the Judiciary Committee's shenanigans. Oddly enough, the committee's behavior closely resembles the litmus test (only considering a judge's view on one particular issue) Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of using. Yet not once have major media accused the Judiciary Committee of trying Pickering with the litmus test procedure. Maybe this is a sign that the phrase will never again be applied to the nomination process, but I doubt it.\nCharles Pickering's nomination was only the beginning of a long battle in the Senate. Seeing the day approach when a pro-life judge may sit on the Supreme Court has already provoked leftists to violate the Constitution. \nUnfortunately for them, they are using up their tricks early on. Hopefully the committee\'s refusal to allow all Senate members to vote will not reoccur, but perhaps their behavior will raise the concern of U.S. citizens and bring to light the anti-democratic tactics leftists resort to when their house of cards begins to wobble.