Leah Vukmir, a Wisconsin Republican
running for Senate, wants a fair hearing for Gordon Giampietro, nominated by
President Trump to fill a federal district court seat.
A recent BuzzFeed article highlighted a few of Giampietro’s supposedly
controversial remarks about gay marriage, Obamacare and birth control.
Incumbent Democrat Senator Tammy
Baldwin’s staff is quoted in the piece questioning his nomination in the
context of these comments. “These
extremely troubling statements were not provided to the Wisconsin Federal
Nominating Commission when it considered candidates for this vacancy,” the
spokesman wrote. “Both what was said, and
the fact that it was not disclosed to the Commission, raise serious questions
about whether this nominee would be able to serve as a fair and impartial judge
on a federal court.”
Giampietro did not disclose his past
comments in his application to the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission.
In an attempt at
transparency, Giampietro released his application last week, but Baldwin’s team
remains skeptical he will able to serve in an “impartial” manner.
Vukmir explained why
this is wholly unfair to the nominee: “As a Greek Orthodox woman, it is
alarming that senators like Tammy Baldwin would be willing to block judicial
nominees because of their faith.” She
went on to rightly point out, “America was built on the principle that people
of faith can abide by their conscience while serving the interest of the public. Senator Baldwin should be ashamed of her
willingness to let politics get in the way of filling vacant seats on the
court.”
Vukmir went into detail in her direct
appeal to Baldwin to keep her own “radical views” out of it. “As a Christian, I am writing to ask you to
drop your opposition to Gordon Giampietro to be a judge on the district court. Most recently, the Catholic Bishops of Wisconsin
asked you to give Mr. Giampietro a fair hearing and not to discriminate against
him based upon his deeply held religious beliefs. Senator Baldwin, you should not block a
highly qualified judge to serve this country and administer justice simply
because they have faith and a strongly held belief about the rule of law and
the Constitution. You were elected to
the Senate not to impose your own radical views of the judiciary on this
nation, but to ensure qualified nominees sit on our judiciary. The founders never intended for senators to
act on anti-Christian bigotry when determining if a judicial nominee is qualified
to serve. Your opposition to him on this
basis sends a terrible message to people of faith across Wisconsin and sets a
terrible precedent. I hope you will
reconsider your position and allow Mr. Giampietro to be considered by the full
Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Giampietro is not the only Trump
judicial nominee who faced Democratic obstruction for his or her religious beliefs.
Amy Coney Barrett was interrogated by Senators
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) last year for publishing papers
that contained pro-life language. “"The
dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein declared, while her colleagues had
the gall to ask Barrett if she was an “orthodox Catholic.”
Barrett was
ultimately confirmed to the 7th Circuit Court.
Even Neil Gorsuch,
when he was still a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, was grilled by
Feinstein over the abortion issue. Feinstein
informed him at one point that Roe v. Wade is “super precedent.” He kindly explained that he would defer to the
Constitution in the cases he considers, not his personal convictions.
It has also been
noted that some Democrats are blocking Trump nominees due to the color of their
skin.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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