Number 6

At one point in this nation's history, the majority opinion held that slavery was quite alright. At one point, the majority insisted that women shouldn't vote. At one point, the notion that blacks were second-class citizens prevailed. Most of our civil rights were won by conscientious judges adhering to the standards and protections in the Constitution; we can not afford to sacrifice this independence of the judicial branch.
Our Members of Congress have sworn an oath to uphold our Constitution. One of its main tenets, and greatest strengths, is the idea that federal power should not be consolidated. Eliminating the filibuster for judicial nominees would politicize the appointment process and dilute this essential separation of powers. If a simple majority is all that is needed to decide lifetime justice appointments, there is nothing to prevent a de facto coup of the judiciary by whoever happens to hold 51 seats. The fact remains, though, that one simply cannot extrapolate from the Senate - where the minority might lack only two or three people on the majority - to the American populace, where the opposition party represents millions of Americans.

Our founding fathers spoke at length on the importance of guaranteeing a minority voice and rights. Great philosophers have written at length about the "tyranny of the majority." We'd be doing them a tremendous disrespect and casting their vision for America aside if we did not heed their words.

Transferred from an email, by Terry Thompson