Most recent installment - "Why you can't trust Bill Frist..."

Kim received this reply from Sen. Frist's office recently...

Thank you for contacting me regarding the judicial nomination process. It is an honor to serve in the United States Senate.

As Majority Leader, ensuring that President Bush’s judicial nominees receive fair treatment is one of my top priorities. Each of the President’s nominees that has been brought before the full Senate has been well-qualified and deserving of approval. The Constitution’s “advice and consent” clause clearly gives the Senate the prerogative to accept or reject any of the President’s judicial nominations. Unfortunately, a minority of Senators are using Senate rules to stop the confirmation of many of these nominees and thwart the will of the majority. Their unwise and dangerous efforts are unprecedented and must not be allowed to succeed.

I have already taken several steps to address this aftack on our Constitution and judicial system. On June 5, 2003, I proposed a narrow change to Senate rules that would prohibit long term filibustering of judicial nominees. On November 12 - 14, 2003, I held the Senate in session for almost forty straight hours — the longest continuous debate in over 10 years to force the minority to defend their actions.

Rest assured, I will continue to fight for fair treatment of the President’s judicial nominations in the 109th Congress. Anything less is unfair to the nominees, the President, the integrity of the judicial system and the American people.

Sincerely,



William H. Frist, M.D.
Majority Leader
United States Senate

She answered it as follows...

Senator William H. Frist, M.D.
> United States Senate
> Washington, DC 20004-4205
>
>
> Senator:
>
> I am in receipt of your polemic form letter dated March 11, 2005. It
> does not answer my question or in any way respond to the matter I
> addressed in my e-mail of March 5. My belief is that your staff did
> not take my concerns into consideration when preparing your
> constituent briefing that day, so I will rephrase my question, and
> address it both to you, and directly to the staff member now reading
> this letter
>
>
> If the minority party’s current effort to “stop the confirmation” of
> the President’s Judicial nominees and “thwart the will of the
> majority” is, as your letter of 3/11 describes, “unfair”, “unwise”,
> “dangerous”, and “unprecedented”, why then did Senator Frist so often
> join filibustering attempts to block President Clinton’s Judicial
> Nominees when he himself was in the minority party?
>
> Please Gentlemen, an honest request deserves a full and honest reply.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Kim Morris
> Meriden, CT