This is a copy of the letter I sent to Senators Allen and Warner regarding the nomination of John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. Since both have gone on record praising Roberts, I don’t expect this to have much impact, but I feel compelled to let them know that not everyone is as thrilled witht he man as they claim to be.
I urge you to vote against confirming John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court.
There are too many unanswered questions about Mr. Roberts and his failure to answer these questions during his confirmation hearings do nothing to create a sense of confidence about him.
While I grant that he cant speculate about how he might rule on a hypothetical case, I see no reason why he cant answer questions about his own personal beliefs. I do not believe the claim that personal beliefs wont influence his decision-making process. While it is a laudable goal, it is probably impossible to realize. Therefore, without knowing his own personal beliefs it is only possible to judge him by the types of jobs he has sought out and held over the years. These jobs have almost uniformly been positions where he has argued against fundamental freedoms. It seems unlikely that he would have held positions for so many years if he did not agree with the views of his employers and those employers have frequently sought to curtail many freedoms that we take for granted today.
The failure of the Bush Administration to release all records pertaining to Mr. Roberts also leaves a cloud over his nomination. Transparency, particularly at the highest level of our government is essential if we are to have trust in that government. Why are we not permitted to see these records?
I, personally, would not hire someone with as many unanswered questions as remain for Mr. Roberts. I strongly urge you to vote no on Mr. Roberts.
I’ll post any responses I get. It will be interesting to see just how far they go in praising the man.
