Thread: The vote to invoke cloture and thus end debate will occur on Thursday

URGENT: CALL SENATORS NOW - NO on Friedland!

April 9, 2014

Senator Harry Reid filed cloture last night on one of the most controversial nominations to the Ninth Circuit - Michelle T. Friedland. The vote to invoke cloture and thus end debate will occur on Thursday, so you must call your Senators today and tomorrow and ask them to vote NO.

Friedland's advocacy for judicial supremacy renders her unfit to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Friedland's record indicates a clear disregard for the separation of powers and government by consent of the people. She has written that "There is no independent truth about the content of rights in state constitutions . . . The rights are no more than what enforceable judgments of the state courts say they are." In Friedland's view, there is no room for the people, or the legislatures they elect, to determine the extent and limits of rights. According to her, rights begin and end with judges.

Working with this view of judicial authority, Friedland has sought to limit the rights of religious liberty and self-government long enjoyed by Americans. She worked hard for the effort in California (SB 1172) to punish faith-based counselors working with families who sought counsel for their children struggling with homosexuality, referring to Judeo-Christian beliefs as a "discredited practice" that "no therapist could believe is necessary or beneficial."

Additionally, her efforts against California's Proposition 8 contended that the state's citizens had no right to amend their own constitution to address the question of marriage. A "Judge Friedland" would expand her own authority at the expense of the right of the people to govern themselves according to their own moral and religious beliefs. For her work to erode the rights of the people, Friedland has been commended by leftist groups such as the ACLU.

Friedland has also repeatedly endorsed international judges as authorities over state law, arguing that the International Court of Justice took precedence over state laws.

TAKE ACTION!

You must call and email your Senators (both Republican and Democrat) and respectfully urge them to VOTE NO ON FRIEDLAND.

PLEASE pass this e-mail on to your friends and family who believe the federal bench should only be reserved for those who respect the rule of law and the founding principles of this great nation.

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Further Reading:

• Leader Letter Signed by Top Conservative Leaders Opposing Friedland
• Changing the Rules, Changing America: The Senate and Judicial Supremacy

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/alerts.html?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f35628%2frespond

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Changing the Rules, Changing America: The Senate and Judicial Supremacy

• 9th Circuit Court
• Eagle Forum
• filibuster
• government-run healthcare
• Harry Reid
• Judiciary
• liberal judges
• Michelle T. Friedland
• nuclear option
• Obama
• Phyllis Schlafly
• property rights
• religious liberty
• RINOs
• traditional marriage
• U.S Courts
• US Senate

By Glyn Wright, Executive Director, Eagle Forum (@EagleForum) | 3/28/14



Among the most important and long-lasting actions of a President are his nominations to the federal agencies and courts. Likewise, among the most significant and consequential votes of United States Senators are their confirmation votes on federal judges. As a matter of principle, Senators should never vote to confirm a federal judge unless the record of the nominee demonstrates respect for the role of the judiciary to decide cases rather than to legislate from the bench.
Over the past 60 years, liberals have stealthily and intermittently begun confirming radical activists to the courts. Although Senate procedure provides the power of the “filibuster” to stop or stall nominees, Senators have often neglected to stop bad nominees, generally deeming them to be the President’s prerogative. As a result, virtually no issue goes untouched by the courts.
From religious liberty to property rights, and most recently from marriage to government-run healthcare, the American way of life has fallen prey to decisions from judges who legislate liberal policies from the bench. Phyllis Schlafly has written extensively on this topic and in her book The Supremacists notes that these individuals have “replaced the rule of law with the rule of judges.”
In the recent past, as Americans have realized the impact of these nominations, conservatives have been successful in stopping some of the most egregious nominees. In 2013, however, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke the Senate rules to change the Senate rules, destroying the ability of the minority to stop nominees unfit for the courts.
Throughout his tenure, Senator Reid has been scamming the American people by consistently using Senate procedure to shut conservatives out of the process while creating the illusion that they are filibustering. Few people have time to watch Senate proceedings on C-SPAN every day, and the mainstream media does not cover stories that jeopardize Reid’s liberal agenda. So, not only has Reid gotten away with tyranny, but he has also disingenuously blamed Republicans for obstructing his tyranny.
He began last year with his usual dirty tricks by convincing a few RINOs to go along with an alleged compromise on so-called “filibuster reform.” This reform, designed to shut conservatives further out of the legislative process, was only the beginning of the tyranny that ensued. By the end of 2013, Senator Reid had invoked the “nuclear option” by rushing through a bill that allowed a simple majority (versus the traditional 60-vote threshold) of Senators to invoke Cloture (ending debate) on all Executive branch and judicial nominations.
The term “nuclear option” could not be more appropriate, analogous to “nuclear weapons,” the most extreme option in warfare. Warfare is exactly what the Obama Administration and Harry Reid’s Senate are waging on conservative Republicans, Senate decorum, and the American tradition. Out-of-control spending and continued federal intrusion will be the least of our worries if President Obama is allowed even one more Supreme Court nomination. The Republican Party must take control of the Senate in November if we want America to survive.
Almost weekly, the Senate confirms more Obama nominees to the courts, and next on the calendar is yet another radical nominee unfit for the bench. Michelle T. Friedland, a liberal attorney and radical activist from California, has been nominated by President Obama to the 9th Circuit Court.
Friedland’s record indicates a clear disregard for “separation of powers” and a government run “by the people,” and her radical interpretation of judicial power has led her to create new rights while ignoring those long enjoyed by Americans. According to her own writings, rights begin and end with judges. Her amicus briefs have sought to limit religious liberty, and she recently dismissed traditional Judeo-Christians beliefs on homosexuality as a “discredited practice.”
She has repeatedly advocated international judges as authorities over state law and holds such a radical belief in judicial supremacy that even the most liberal Senator should heavily weigh the implications of her confirmation. Her judicial philosophy seeks to make the legislative branch completely irrelevant. Confirming Michelle Friedland would be another blow to the idea of a limited judiciary.
Not only would she be a deplorable judge, but Harry Reid’s complete usurpation of power should not be rewarded and deserves a bold response. Conservatives should work adamantly to defeat her by ensuring their Senators vote no on confirmation. At the end of the day, however, the only way to end the tyranny of the judiciary is to elect a conservative Senate, starting in November of 2014.
For more information or to sign up for action alerts, visit the Eagle Forum website here.

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   28 mins ago - The Senate voted today to invoke cloture on the nomination of Michelle Friedland to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Friedland was ...