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Oppose Judicial Nominee Myers and the Nuclear Option
The Senate will soon vote on the re-nomination of former Interior Solicitor William Myers to a lifetime seat on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which decides the fate of environmental safeguards for nine western states. The Senate’s leadership is so determined to become a rubber stamp for the White House, they are planning to violate long-standing Senate rules to push through previously blocked, extreme anti-environmental nominees like Myers. This tactic has been dubbed the “nuclear option” by its proponents because it would effectively shut down the Senate.
Please ask your senators to oppose William Myers's lifetime nomination and the nuclear option by using this form.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please block William Myers and oppose the "nuclear option"
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Please vote against the confirmation of former Interior Solicitor William Myers to a lifetime seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by opposing cloture on that nomination. I also strongly urge you to oppose the so-called "nuclear option" to destroy the filibuster. Myers's record as an extreme advocate for industry special interests both outside government service and later as the Interior Department's top lawyer shows that he lacks the impartiality necessary for our nation's highest courts. The filibuster remains an important tool to maintain balance on the courts by opposing out-of-the-mainstream nominees like William Myers.
In his speeches and writings, Myers has displayed open hostility to Congress' authority to protect the environment. Before joining the Interior Department, Myers unsuccessfully argued in Supreme Court briefs that Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act safeguards were unconstitutional. Myers compared the government's management of public lands to King George's "tyrannical" rule over the American colonies, and denounced the California Desert Protection Act as "an example of legislative hubris." A substantial number of American Bar Association evaluators rated him "not-qualified" for the federal bench, demonstrating that Solicitor Myers was nominated based not on his credentials, but on his ideology.
The Senate has confirmed more than 95 percent of President Bush's nominations to federal courts. The filibuster has only been used to oppose the most extreme nominees, like Myers, to maintain balance on the federal courts. The filibuster is an important check on both presidential and majority power.
Unfortunately, Solicitor Myers's record shows that he would not be a fair and impartial judge in deciding the fate of environmental and other safeguards established through decades of progress. Please do all you can to block his confirmation to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, including, if necessary, supporting a filibuster.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
March 21, 2005
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William Myers
 William Myers has spent his career in and out of government service representing industry special interests, and seeking to overturn vital environmental and public health safeguards. Unfortunately, his record indicates that he would not be the kind of fair and impartial judge necessary to preserve the integrity of our federal courts.
William Myers amassed an extreme record as the Interior Department's top lawyer. While in that position, he repudiated his predecessor's formal legal opinion to clear the way for a previously rejected cyanide heap-leach gold mine that would pollute the environment and destroy the Quechan Indian Tribe's vital sacred sites. He met with the mining company, but not with the Tribal government, which had requested a meeting and which had a right to government-to-government consultation. In November 2003, federal Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. held that Myers's legal opinion distorted the law to reach a favorable result for the mining company.
In his speeches and writings, Myers has displayed open hostility to Congress authority to protect the environment. Before joining the Interior Department, Myers unsuccessfully argued in Supreme Court briefs that Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act safeguards were unconstitutional. He asserted to the Court that the constitutional right of a rancher "to put his property to beneficial use is as fundamental as his right to freedom of speech." This would elevate ranchers' property rights above almost all other rights -- including many aspects of the right to privacy -- and would mean that courts should rule in favor of corporate "property rights" challenges to environmental and other safeguards to the same extent that courts protect fundamental rights like free speech. His approach would invalidate as unconstitutional a vast range of labor, health, environmental, disability, civil rights, zoning, and other limits on property use.
Myers also compared the government's management of public lands to King George's "tyrannical" rule over the American colonies, and claimed that public-land safeguards are fueling "a modern-day revolution" in the American West. He denounced the California Desert Protection Act as "an example of legislative hubris."
A substantial number of American Bar Association evaluators rated Myers "not-qualified" for the federal bench, demonstrating that Solicitor Myers was nominated based not on his credentials, but on his ideology.
The "Nuclear Option"
 The Senate has confirmed 204 of the president’s 214 judicial nominations. Historically, Senate minorities of both parties have maintained balance in Congressional decision-making through the use of extended debate, known as the filibuster. The so-called “nuclear option” -- a phrase coined by Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) -- would reduce the number of votes required to end a filibuster of judicial nominees from 60 to 51, and effectively destroy any possibility of bipartisanship and balance in the Senate.
The Senate has a constitutional duty to reject those who would enact their own extreme political agendas from the bench, and confirm to lifetime seats only those judges who will fairly and impartially interpret the law. The filibuster has been an important tool in providing a check on the power of the majority and balancing decisions made by Congress.
Proponents of a partisan majority vote to eliminate judicial filibusters called it the "nuclear option" because it would destroy any chance for the unanimous consent and bipartisanship needed to conduct the business of the Senate. Setting aside the importance of bipartisanship in support of legislation, the Senate is a body requiring unanimous consent to conduct many of the most basic activities. If the nuclear option is exercised, daily operation of the Senate may grind to a halt.
The Senate should reject William Myers' nomination to a lifetime seat on one of our nation's highest courts and reject the nuclear option to end filibusters. Learn more about William Myers, including opposition from a wide range of groups, and the Nuclear Option by visiting "Judging the Environment."
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