LETTER: Checks, balances need to stay

Editor,

Next month, the Senate will most likely vote on what has been called the “nuclear option.” This would limit the use of filibuster specifically in decisions on judicial appointments, and is a grasp for power by radical Republicans so that they can appoint Supreme Court justices who favor corporate interests and extreme-right objectives over the rest of us. I sincerely urge our senators to stand up for the checks and balances provided by our system of government that has made our country strong, and oppose the “nuclear option.”

Despite an almost 95 percent success rate in Senate confirmation of President Bush’s judicial appointees, radical Republicans want to stack the Supreme Court so they can reward big donors by rolling back worker protections, privacy rights and environmental laws – all at our expense.

This is not a partisan issue. Ultimately, you don’t even need to oppose the president’s appointees to oppose the “nuclear option.” This is about supporting the system of checks and balances that prevents absolute power from residing in the hands of one party. It is the system of checks and balances that keeps our democracy honest and strong.

Peter Ruben