Senator Toomey,
The Senate must NOT confirm any permanent appointments while the election is under official investigation. The Senate is still investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, so any hearings on appointments to the Supreme Court must be delayed until the conclusion of those investigations. You don’t have all the information, so you must not make permanent decisions.
Thank you.
Senator Toomey,
Your phone lines have been busy. Your voicemail box has been full. I’m sure you’re getting plenty of mail. It’s clear that your constituents want to hear from you. Yet, it took days for you to release a noncommittal statement on the refugee ban. And you’ve largely been silent on everything else. Senator Casey, on the other hand, is communicating with Pennsylvanians. Give us some feedback, please. You promised not to be a rubber stamp for President Trump, but we need constant reassurance on that front.
Thank you.
Senator Toomey,
Yesterday, the president signed an executive order turning away refugees, banning people from Muslim-majority countries, and instituting a religious test for getting into the United States. This order is absolutely unconstitutional. The president has violated the constitution and his oath of office. You’ve seen the resistance in protests all over our great nation. We, the people, demand that you work to counteract the Muslim ban. You’ve used freedom of religion as an excuse for your stances before. If you remain silent now, you prove that your brand of “freedom” is for Christians only. Further, you must work to impeach the president for the violation of his oath of office.
5. What the Nazis were doing was not describing what was true, but what would have to be true to justify what they planned to do next.
— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) November 28, 2016
Lies are coming out of the White House. Particularly, lies about the murder rate in Philadelphia, used to justify federal interference like the president threatened in Chicago. If you need to use lies to justify your action, your action is unjust. Senator Toomey came out in support of the president’s stance on sanctuary cities, which was supported by lies. By not speaking against the lies, Senator Toomey is compromising his own position and integrity.
Hello Senator Toomey,
No one answered my call, and your voicemail box is full.
I’m deeply disturbed by the President’s executive orders intended to deport immigrants and ban refugees. Immigration is the foundation of our nation, and it is through immigration that the US continues to excel. It can only be through compassion for refugees that America demonstrates its commitment to all men being created equal. The fact that so many are fleeing areas impacted by ISIS is clear evidence that they want to live in a nation that respects freedom and opportunity, not under the reign of an abusive power that places undue importance on a person’s religion. Yick Wo v. Hopkins tells us it is unconstitutional for a law to disproportionately affect a protected class, but the proposed list of countries in the ban is exclusively majority-Muslim. This is unconstitutional policy must be opposed by everyone with a voice, and that includes you. If this executive order is carried through, we will be living under the reign of an abusive power that places undue importance on a person’s religion. We’ll be no better than those we wish to oppose, and it won’t be long before countries will start accepting American refugees.
Please, I expect you to publicly stand with our immigrants and refugees, and you must protect them from these severe and short sighted measures.
Thank you.
Senator Toomey,
I strongly urge you to vote against the President’s cabinet picks. There’s plenty else to address, so I’ll be brief.
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Senator Toomey tweeted this morning an appraisal of a person in the running for RNC chair.
Hear @DavidJUrban is in the running for RNC chair. He’d make a good one.
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) November 16, 2016
Despite the fact that his phone was ringing off the hook yesterday with requests to condemn the hiring of Stephen Bannon, noted white supremacist, he has yet to make a public comment on the matter. This, as we’ve seen with Senator Toomey’s handling of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, can be taken as support for President-elect Trump’s choice of Stephen Bannon. In his re-election campaign, Senator Toomey pledged to “stand up to any president’s bad ideas.” Senator Toomey has not stood up.
President-elect Trump has announced the hiring of noted white supremacist, Stephen Bannon, to his staff. Senator Casey has spoken out against this appointment. Senator Toomey is silent on the issue. Senator Toomey stayed neutral on Donald Trump’s campaign, refusing to distance himself from any of the racist and hateful rhetoric. It was revealed, when no one was looking, that he cast his vote for that campaign of racism and hate. This is another instance where Senator Toomey has not shown the strength of character to stand up for his principles. When it comes to racism, there is no neutrality.
Senator Toomey, you must make a public statement on the hiring of Stephen Bannon.
Senator Toomey,
Congratulations to you on your reelection.
You invoked Vice President Biden’s words to justify his refusal to hold a hearing for any Supreme Court Justice that was nominated. Vice President Biden said, “[the president] should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not — and not — name a nominee until after the November election is completed.” Well, Senator, the November election is completed, and it’s time to hold a hearing for the next Supreme Court Justice. The length of time the Senate has taken to hold a hearing for a Supreme Court nomination is unprecedented. Please don’t delay any longer.
Senator Toomey,
I received your response detailing why you will not consider the President’s Supreme Court nomination. Your reasons do not make sense to me.
First, you state that “…objective qualifications, character, and adherence to the rule of law matter more than ideology in evaluating judicial nominees.” A paragraph later, you claim that this judicial appointment “…is especially sensitive because it will fundamentally affect the balance of the Supreme Court…” That, however, is an ideological concern. Allowing the ideological balance of the court to influence your decision *before* even considering the qualifications and character of the nominee indicates that ideology is a stronger factor for you.
You claim that “In the final year of a presidency, it is extremely rare for vacancies that arise on the Supreme Court to be filled.” In a recent New York Times article (“Supreme Court Nominees Considered
in Election Years Are Usually Confirmed”), six out of eight election year vacancies in the 20th century were filled. And since you raise an issue with something being “extremely rare,” it is *unprecedented* for the senate to take more than 125 days to vote on a nomination. “Extremely rare,” though dubious, is one thing; UNPRECEDENTED is another. You should not be suggesting that your proposed inaction is in line with historical standards.
You suggest that “…it makes sense to give the American people a more direct say in this critical decision.” More than 65 million American voters re-elected President Obama to perform his duties for another 4 years (2016 fully included in that span). Less than six years ago, you were elected to perform the duties of the Senate for six years (2016 fully included in that span). It makes sense that the American people have used their voice. With three Supreme Court Justices scheduled to surpass US life expectancy before the 2016 election, the public was aware that their elected officials would probably be appointing a replacement. That factored into the vote. For something more recent, please look at the Monmouth University poll in which 69% of those polled want the Senate to consider the nomination. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed petitions to persuade you to consider the nomination. The American people are talking, and they want the government to proceed with its duties.
You say that “[The Constitution] does not require the Senate to provide any particular process or follow any particular timeframe when considering considering[sic] a nominee.” True, the Constitution leaves room for the Senate to decide *how* to do its job. Making the leap to the Senate *refusing* to do its job is a new phenomenon. Though tautology, President Obama is the President. “The next president” is NOT the President. Your job is to advise and consent to the President’s Supreme Court nomination, not the nomination of “the next president.” By refusing to act on the President’s nomination, you are violating the Constitution and your oath of office.
You mentioned Vice President Joe Biden, as if his 1992 remarks support your position. In fact, Mr. Biden proposed a delay of confirmation until after the election; the plan was to consider the President’s nomination eventually. Your plan is fundamentally different, as you declare that you will not consider the current President’s nomination, only nominations “by the next president.” It is a false equivalence.
Though you claim otherwise, your position is unsupported by objective qualifications, precedent, the American people, the Constitution, or Democrats. Please consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination.
[This letter was sent to Senator Toomey in March of 2016. I did not receive a response.]