NCJW Calls On President Bush to Abandon His Divisive Judicial Nominations Strategy

February 7, 2008, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has called on President Bush to abandon his efforts to fill the federal bench with extreme appointments and restore the tradition of bipartisan consultation as part of the constitutional advice and consent process. Prompted by the President's plans to gather pending judicial and other nominees at a White House breakfast to publicize the fact that they have not yet been confirmed, NCJW President Phyllis Snyder released the following statement:

"President Bush has invited some of his pending nominees to a White House breakfast this morning, apparently in an effort to highlight their unconfirmed status and pressure the Senate to confirm them. Among these nominees are several whose extreme views should disqualify them for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.

"A more productive strategy for filling existing judicial vacancies would be to revive the bipartisan tradition of seeking the advice and consent of the Senate in a way that respects the formal process and the informal consultation that typically marked the appointment of judges in decades past. When President Bush embarked on his project to remake the federal judiciary as a bulwark of right wing fundamentalism and extremism, he chose to ignore this useful tradition that has served our country well since its founding.

"The president has less than a year to reverse his legacy of extreme appointments. Today would be a good time to start. However, if he persists in his efforts to fill judicial vacancies with lifetime appointments of candidates far outside the judicial mainstream, the Senate should act to prevent their confirmation."

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide. It has launched BenchMark: NCJW's Campaign to Save Roe, a national effort to educate and mobilize NCJW members, the Jewish community, and friends and allies everywhere to promote a federal bench with judges that support fundamental freedoms, including a woman's right to choose.

Contact:
Emily Alfano
202 296 2588 x5; emily@ncjwdc.org