my email to Sen. Byrd

[peacebird]

Senator Byrd -
I have always held the utmost respect for you, and have donated to your campaign fund even though I am a Virginia. I feel you have America's best interests at heart at a time when many in power do not. Thank you.

But I must beg you to reconsider your vote on Sam Alito, sir. His belief is that presidential power is limitless, and Bush has made extensive use of the "signing statement" power that Alito crafted in the Reagan era. Even as Bush signed the anti torture bill, his signing statement claimed he could still ignore the law without penalty. Below is a snippet from a Washington Post article about this very issue.

Please sir, for the good of America - do not vote for Alito.
Respectfully,
(name)


"Alito Once Made Case For Presidential Power

By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 2, 2006; A11

As a young Justice Department lawyer, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. tried to help tip the balance of power between Congress and the White House a little more in favor of the executive branch.

In the 1980s, the Reagan administration, like other White Houses before and after, chafed at the reality that Congress's reach on the meaning of laws extends beyond the words of statutes passed on Capitol Hill. Judges may turn to the trail of statements lawmakers left behind in the Congressional Record when trying to glean the intent behind a law. The White House left no comparable record.

In a Feb. 5, 1986, draft memo, Alito, then deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, outlined a strategy for changing that. It laid out a case for having the president routinely issue statements about the meaning of statutes when he signs them into law.

Such "interpretive signing statements" would be a significant departure from run-of-the-mill bill signing pronouncements, which are "often little more than a press release," Alito wrote. The idea was to flag constitutional concerns and get courts to pay as much attention to the president's take on a law as to "legislative intent."

[ProSense]

1. Excellent! Thanks.

Suggestion: make it a general statement and include in one of the one hit petitions. It's very good.

[peacebird]

2. will do so now! thanks for the suggestion

:toast:

[sonsera]

3. email to Senator Byrd

I’m also disappointed with the decision of my senator from WV whom I’ve always felt would do the right thing for the Democratic party, (as he did when voting against the Iraq war) but I don’t believe he will change his mind on Alito. First of all he claims he is doing what his consistency in WV wants and to my surprise and disappointment, he also claims he is in favor of conservative justices. Personally I believe there might be a third reason why he is doing this and that is because he is running for re-election this year and might be worried that his conservative consistency in WV might opt for a republican this time. Byrd is now 88 years old and will become the oldest senator to have served in congress if he is re-elected surpassing, Strom Thurmond who served 48 years. If interested in why he says he’s voting for Alito you can read his statement at the following site: http://byrd.senate.gov/newsroom/news_jan/alito.html