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Your Senators Need to Know What You Think!
As a Maine voter, your action today is very important. Please help us reach our goal of sending 5,000 petitions to the honorable Senators of your state, calling for the vote and support of nominee, Dawn Johnsen, for the Office of Legal Counsel.
Your action matters!
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please Call for a Vote and Support Dawn Johnsen
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Dear Senators Collins and Snowe,
As your constituent, I urge you to support a prompt vote for the confirmation of Professor Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the Department of Justice. Prof. Johnsen is not only a nationally acclaimed constitutional scholar, but also, as a former legal director for NARAL Pro-choice America, she supports women's reproductive rights.
The OLC frequently advises the White House and the federal agencies about the limits of law in important matters ranging from voting rights to religious discrimination. I am concerned that the OLC adhere strictly to the rule of law rather than adding the appearance of legality to ideological decisions, as was the case during the previous administration. The OLC needs new direction and Professor Johnsen is ideally placed to provide it.
Professor Johnsen has already served in the OLC during the 1990's. She showed her concern for the OLC when the integrity of the office was suspect by helping to craft legislation to bring greater transparency to the office. In 2004, she organized a group of former OLC attorneys to write a statement of principles for the office that received bipartisan praise.
Both of you have voted in support of a woman's right to choose. Please support a prompt vote to confirm Prof. Johnsen so that the nation may benefit from both her legal expertise and her compassion for women.
Thank you for your consideration.
Signed by:
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Campaign Launched:
May 22, 2009
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We are calling on the two Senators from Maine to request a prompt vote on President Obama’s nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
The office is responsible for telling the President whether proposed executive orders and other actions are legal and constitutional. That’s a key role in protecting such constitutional rights as freedom of speech and association; freedom of religion; the right to privacy; and equal treatment under the law, free from discrimination. Professor Johnsen, who has the support of a majority of Senators, is an especially well qualified nominee for this position.
She has enormous practical experience. Professor Johnsen served in the Office of LegalCounsel for five years in the 1990s, including as acting director. She brings substantial legal expertise to this position. She is a distinguished law professor at Indiana University whose academic writings have focused on how to protect against abuses of executive power.
Professor Johnsen’s nomination is supported by many distinguished legal scholars, and people of both parties who have led the Office of Legal Counsel. Johnsen’s nomination is supported by Doug Kmiec, Principal Deputy of the Office of Legal Counsel under Bush Sr.; Walter Dellinger, head of the Office of Legal Counsel under President Clinton; and Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Given her qualifications, scholarship, and experience, we find the opposition to Professor Johnsen’s nomination unfortunate. Instead of further delay, the Senate should hold a vote and get back to other priority issues such as the economy, health care, and education.
The Center urges you to sign the petition asking for your Senator's support for a vote on President Obama’s nomination of Dawn Johnsen.
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