Dear Sen. Romney,
My letter today is to implore you to not fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court during this election year. Though I tend to vote for liberal candidates, I voted for you for president and Senate. I have always been impressed by your intellect, integrity and public service. I was moved by your speech that justified the vote to impeach Trump. You spoke about doing what’s right and upholding the Constitution, even if it goes against what your political party is pressuring you to do.
The leadership and moral fortitude you displayed will go down in history. Your moral conviction applies similarly, if even more profoundly, during this moment of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the potential nomination of a new Supreme Court justice. During the last election, the GOP refused to bring the vote to the Senate to confirm the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. They argued that there should not be a confirmation during an election year. Though I disagreed with their decision, I understood their reasoning. The people choose the president, and the president then chooses the justices.
What I cannot understand now is the hypocrisy surrounding Sen. Mitch McConnell’s insistence to confirm a Supreme Court justice during this election year. They set a precedent in 2016, and now it is their moral obligation to uphold it. How else can the people trust our elected officials? I implore you to be the leader that we’ve seen in you thus far. Please refuse to confirm a justice before the election and — if President Donald Trump does not get reelected — please refuse to confirm a justice before the next inauguration. Please openly call on your GOP colleagues to follow suit.
Sarah Stone, Salt Lake City