Friends,
I
believe
Judge
Neil
Gorsuch
is
eminently
qualified
to
serve
on
the
United
States
Supreme
Court.
I
look
forward
to
the
opportunity
to
vote
to
confirm
him.
I
wrote
more
about
my
vote
to
support
him
in
the
below
column
which
will
appear
in
this
Sunday's
print
edition
of
The
Indy
Star.
-
Todd
Op-ed:
Why
I
will
vote
to
confirm
Judge
Neil
Gorsuch
One
day
last
fall
I
met
a
woman
at
a
bakery
in
Lebanon
who
told
me
something
I
haven’t
forgotten:
no
matter
what
happens,
you
must
protect
the
future
of
the
Supreme
Court.
Hoosiers
voted
the
way
they
did
last
November
for
many
reasons
jobs,
healthcare,
national
security
but
I
heard
time
and
again
that
seating
judges
who
would
not
legislate
from
the
bench
was
among
the
top
priorities
for
Indiana
voters.
This
week,
Judge
Neil
Gorsuch
underwent
four
days
of
confirmation
hearings
before
the
Senate
Judiciary
Committee.
I
met
with
Judge
Gorsuch
face-to-face
last
month,
and
though
I
came
away
impressed,
I
pledged
to
wait
for
his
hearing
before
determining
if
he
was
the
type
of
jurist
Hoosiers
demanded
last
November.
Today,
I
can
say
without
a
doubt
that
Judge
Gorsuch
has
met
Hoosiers’
high
expectations.
I’m
proud
to
say
that
I
will
be
voting
to
confirm
him
on
the
floor
of
the
U.S.
Senate.
Going
into
this
process,
I
was
hopeful
that
President
Trump
would
nominate
someone
who
was
within
the
mainstream
of
judicial
interpretation
and
one
who
came
to
the
job
with
independence
and
respect
for
our
constitution.
In
Judge
Gorsuch,
President
Trump
made
a
great
pick.
The
role
of
a
jurist
in
our
constitutional
system
is
to
apply
the
text
of
the
constitution
and
legislative
statutes
impartially
and
independently.
Throughout
his
career,
and
especially
during
his
confirmation
hearings,
Judge
Gorsuch
has
made
it
clear
he
understands
the
limited
but
essential
scope
of
a
judge’s
responsibility.
Judge
Gorsuch
has
said
that
"a
judge
who
likes
every
result
he
reaches
is
very
likely
a
bad
judge,
reaching
for
results
he
prefers
rather
than
those
the
law
compels."
This
statement
reflects
Judge
Gorsuch's
faithful
obedience
of
the
law
rather
than
his
personal
policy
preferences.
Throughout
his
confirmation
hearings,
he
left
no
doubts
that
he
understands
his
constitutional
role
and
is
committed
to
safeguarding
the
rule
of
law.
Over
200
Republican
and
Democratic
lawyers
from
Judge
Gorsuch’s
home
state
of
Colorado
recently
wrote
a
letter,
which
hailed
him
as
“fair,
decent,
and
honest,
both
as
a
judge
and
a
person.”
Not
long
ago,
bipartisan
support
for
eminently
qualified
judicial
nominees
extended
to
the
Senate.
When
Gorsuch
was
appointed
to
the
Court
of
Appeals
in
2006,
his
confirmation
was
unanimous.
Among
those
who
supported
him
were
Democrats
you
may
have
heard
of:
Barack
Obama,
Hillary
Clinton,
Joe
Biden,
and
current
Senate
minority
leader
Chuck
Schumer.
I’m
hopeful
for
a
bipartisan
vote
this
time
around,
but
the
tone
of
the
hearings
has
left
me
less
than
optimistic.
Bitter
partisanship
drives
our
political
dialogue,
and
I
fear
Hoosier
common
sense
has
taken
a
backseat.
The
calls
I’ve
received
against
Judge
Gorsuch
simply
didn’t
convince
me
he
wasn’t
right
for
the
court.
Many
simply
said
no
Trump
appointee
should
be
confirmed.
Others
said
no
on
Gorsuch
because
Merrick
Garland
didn’t
get
a
vote.
A
small
group
said
Judge
Gorsuch
wasn’t
for
the
little
guy.
After
watching
the
hearings,
I
came
away
confident
Judge
Gorsuch
isn’t
“for”
anybody;
he
is
an
independent-minded
jurist
who
is
for
the
facts
and
the
law.
That’s
exactly
what
we
need
on
the
Supreme
Court.
I
believe
Hoosiers
gave
me
a
mandate
to
support
Supreme
Court
nominees
who
will
interpret
the
Constitution
as
it
was
originally
intended,
not
as
a
document
that
changes
with
the
political
or
cultural
winds.
In
Judge
Gorsuch,
President
Trump
found
an
individual
who
embodies
the
characteristics
most
Hoosiers
are
looking
for
on
our
nation’s
highest
court.
I’m
excited
to
vote
to
confirm
him
in
the
coming
weeks
on
behalf
of
Hoosiers.
This
op-ed
originally
appeared
in
the
IndyStar: http://indy.st/2mVSMg7
|