When John Hoeven was governor and I was a state senator, I often rose to defend the authority of the executive branch and to urge my colleagues not to overstep their legislative authority as defined by our state constitution.
It's how we maintain the brilliant balance of power that is the foundation of our system of government.
Now that Hoeven is a member of the legislative branch, I hope he will take his role seriously and push back against his own party's leadership, which has declared its hostility to the constitutional process of the president proposing and the Senate considering.
The Senate Majority Leader and several GOP senators have said flat-out that no matter who is nominated, no matter how qualified, that person will not get a fair hearing in the Senate. So, literally, Mitch McConnell has said he won't consider any name-not his own or that of Ted Cruz or of Jesus of Nazareth or anyone, if the person who makes the nomination is President Barack Obama.
I call on our senators, Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven, to each make a simple, clear statement that they intend to do their jobs and consider every nominee for the Supreme Court based on the qualifications and opinions of the nominee, not on the political party of the nominator.
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Tracy Potter
Bismarck
