Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said in a floor statement Monday that he will likely file a procedural motion to clear the nomination of David Hamilton, an Indiana native nominated to serve on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.   You may remember Hamilton as the Judge who ruled it’s illegal to pray “in Jesus name” but totally legal to pray to Allah on the floor of the Indiana Legislature.  His foolish ruling in Hinrichs v. Bosma was overturned (thanks in part to legal aid to the Indiana Attorney General).  He also ruled to hasten the abortion of unborn children, but that bad ruling was also overturned. Now Obama wants to reward Hamilton’s anti-life anti-Jesus prejudice with promotion to the same appeals court that overruled him.  

“Monday, a week from today, we’ll have votes in the morning. We have to do that,” Reid said. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) wrote a letter to all Republicans on 30 Oct, asking for help in opposing Hamilton, who the Seventh Circuit Court rebuked for repeatedly “abusing his discretion,” and for a speech Hamilton gave saying the judge’s primary job is ”write footnotes in the Constitution” for his own activist causes.  To support Sessions and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) who called for a filibuster, back in April & May 2009 we sent nearly 700,000 fax petitions to the full Senate against Hamilton, and we successfully persuaded all Republicans to unite against Hamilton, earning all 7 minority votes to block him in the Judiciary Committee.  But all 12 committee majority Democrats voted against Jesus-prayers, and so forwarded Hamilton to the full Senate, where his nomination sat quietly without action for seven months, until now.

On 4 June 09, the Judiciary committee voted 12-7 along strict party lines, to forward the nomination of Judge David Hamilton, the anti-Jesus Judge, the same judge who issued controversial rulings banning public prayers offered “in Jesus name,” (but allowing prayers to Allah), and hastening the abortion of unborn children.  This vote came after we’d already sent nearly 600,000 faxes to the entire Senate opposing Hamilton, proving some Republicans listen to the voice of the people, and some Democrats remain deaf to our petitions. Now this anti-Jesus Judge Hamilton will face the full Senate, and the threat of filibuster by the pro-faith, pro-family Senator James Inhofe (R-OK).  

To stop Hamilton, we need 40 strong Senate votes to stand with Senator Inhofe, to uphold his filibuster.  If we fail, Hamilton will be promoted to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that overruled his aggressive, anti-life, anti-liberty decisions for years.

Judge Hamilton wrote: “The injunction orders the Speaker…that the prayers should not use Christ’s name or title or any other denominational appeal…If those offering prayers in the Indiana House of Representatives choose to use the Arabic ‘Allah’…the court sees little risk that the choice of language would advance a particular religion or disparage others.”

In other words, Judge Hamilton ruled the words “Jesus” or “Christ” or “Savior” are illegal words, prohibited for public speech, banned by the First Amendment, which somehow prohibits freedom of religious expression, and makes Christian prayers ILLEGAL, but prayers to Allah are TOTALLY LEGAL in a public forum. (What crazy version of the First Amendment is he reading?)

Judge Hamilton is the worst of Obama’s 15 new liberal appeals court appointees. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals covers Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.  Since most cases never reach the Supreme Court, the federal appellate circuits often provide the last word on cases affecting life and liberty.

READ THE FACTS:

The Judicial Confirmation Network quickly opposed Hamilton’s nomination, stating that “President Obama’s first nominee to the federal appeals courts — specifically the appeals court based in Chicago — is an ultra-liberal named David Hamilton who is a former fundraiser for ACORN and former leader of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU. He was nominated to the district court bench by President Clinton even though he had no judicial experience and was rated as ‘not qualified’ by the American Bar Association.”

Now newly promoted Judiciary Committee ranking minority Member Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), agrees with pro-faith Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), that we should oppose and filibuster Hamilton’s nomination to the 7th Circuit. Thanks in part to our public pressure, the Republicans and Sessions have twice succeeded in delaying Hamilton’s committee votes, saying “This a complex area of the law, I’ll admit, but it’s time for the federal court to get their heads straight on proper separation of church and state issues.”

ANTI-LIFE BUT PRO-ABORTION?

In 2003, Judge Hamilton struck down part of an Indiana law on abortion. The reasonable law had required abortion clinics to simply give women information about alternatives to abortion in the presence of a physician or nurse, 18 hours before the procedure, until Hamilton ruled to hasten abortions. But thank God, the 7th Circuit Court also reversed Hamilton’s bad decision in that case.

If confirmed now Hamilton will sit on that 7th Circuit Court (the same court that frequently overruled him) with tyrannical power to rule the heartland of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin with his anti-life, anti-liberty, anti-Christian agenda.

On April 1st and again on April 29th, Senator Orrin Hatch led all Republicans to walk out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in protest against the Democrat “rush job” to confirm Judge Hamilton.  Senator Jeff Sessions said he was troubled by Hamilton’s ruling against a sectarian prayer to open the Indiana House of Representatives.  Even Senator Arlen Specter expressed concern about Hamilton while serving as a Republican, but after switching parties he broke his promise to not become a “rubber stamp” for the Obama Administration, and voted to confirm Hamilton anyway. But will any Democrats oppose the anti-Jesus Hamilton?

Here is your chance to make some impact. This jusgde comes up for a vote soon, and there are some undecided legislators. Below are the lawmakers’ names and phone numbers:

Ben Nelson, D-NE 202-224-6551                  y George Voinovich, R-OH 202-224-3353

x Bill Nelson, D-FL    202-224-5274              y Judd Gregg, R-NH 202-224-3324

x Kay Hagan, D-NC 202-224-6342               y Richard Lugar, R-IN  202-224-4814

x Mark Pryor, D-AR  202-224-2353                y Olympia Snowe, R-ME  202-224-5344

xz Blanche Lincoln, D-AR 202-224-4843      y Susan Collins, R-ME  202-224-2523

z Chris Dodd, D-CT  202-224-2823                xy Kit Bond, R-MO 202-224-5721

z Barbara Boxer, D-CA 202-224-3553            z Michael Bennet, D-CO  202-224-5852

z Roland Burris, D-IL 202-224-2854              z Byron Dorgan, D-ND 202-224-2551

z Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY 202-224-4451

 (x = Lives in the South. y = Voted for Sebelius. z = Facing re-election in 2010.)