Fw: No on Roberts

Thank Goodness! Had she decided to vote "yes" after having voted "yes" for
the war, what would I have done?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hillary Rodham Clinton" <info@friendsofhillary.com>
To: <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 2:59 PM
Subject: No on Roberts

Dear Friend:

With the future of women's rights, civil rights, and privacy rights at
stake, I cannot vote to confirm John Roberts.

I have an obligation to my constituents to make sure that I cast my vote for
Chief Justice of the United States for someone I am convinced will be
steadfast in protecting fundamental women's rights, civil rights, privacy
rights, and who will respect the appropriate separation of powers among the
three branches. After the Judiciary Hearings, I believe the record on these
matters has been left unclear. That uncertainty means as a matter of
conscience, I cannot vote to confirm despite Judge Roberts' long history of
public service.

In one memo, for example, Judge Roberts argued that Congress has the power
to deny the Supreme Court the right to hear appeals from lower courts on
constitutional claims involving flag burning, abortion, and other matters.
He wrote that the United States would be far better off with fifty different
interpretations of the right to choose than with what he called the
"judicial excesses embodied in Roe v. Wade."

When questioned about his legal memoranda, Judge Roberts claimed they did
not necessarily reflect his views and that he was merely making the best
possible case for his clients or responding to a superior's request that he
make a particular argument. It is hard to believe he has no opinion on so
many critical issues after years as a Justice Department and White House
lawyer, appellate advocate and judge.

It is telling that President Bush has said the Justices he most admires are
the two most conservative justices, Justices Thomas and Scalia. It is not
unreasonable to believe that the President has picked someone in Judge
Roberts whom he believes holds a similarly conservative philosophy, and that
voting as a bloc they could further limit the power of the Congress, expand
the purview of the Executive, and overturn key rulings like Roe v. Wade.

I will, therefore, vote against his confirmation. My desire to maintain the
already fragile Supreme Court majority for civil rights, voting rights and
women's rights outweighs the respect I have for Judge Roberts' intellect,
character, and legal skills.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. Today we have the latest episode of Conversations with Hillary.
Hillary talks to Representative Nita Lowey about women's rights, the Court
and our country.
Watch the video: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/conversation/lowey

Make a Contribution: https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com/form.html?sc=1010

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