The "Why Courts Matter Iowa" coalition is sending thousands of signatures and copies of the portions of the U.S. Constitution to Sen. Charles Grassley's regional offices as a way of reminding him of what they describe as his duty to constituents when President Obama's Supreme Court nominee comes calling – that he must give the pick a hearing.
The Senate's role regarding court nominations from the president is to "advise and consent," according to Article Two, Section Two of the Constitution. And it's this portion of the document the group is sending along to Grassley, who chairs the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and thus in a position to halt or speed through court nominations.
Grassley, in a post on the Supreme Court's blog, said he was going to hold up nominations from Obama, given his lame-duck status.
Specifically, he wrote: "The American people deserve the opportunity during this election year to weigh in on whether the next Justice should apply the text and original meaning of the Constitution [as Antonin Scalia did] or, alternatively, his or her own life experiences to changing times to advance his or her own sense of what would be 'just decisions and fair outcomes.' Senate Republicans will ensure the American people are not denied this unique and historic opportunity."
But Obama supporters and others on the left say the Senate has an obligation to vet the White House pick.
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The group, in a Facebook post, wrote: "Join us to tell Senator Grassley – do your job! We will deliver more than 6,000 signatures and copies of Article Two, Section Two of the U.S. Constitution to Senator [Grassley's] regional offices. Thousands have signed the petition to tell Senator Grassley to do his job. Now we will deliver [these] copies ... to remind him of his job."
A representative of the AFL-CIO is listed as one point person on the event.