Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is asking his political supporters to fill out a three-question survey about the Supreme Court vacancy, but also tells them that once they do, “you will be given the opportunity to make a generous donation to our efforts to elect likeminded leaders.” The questionnaire asks questions that are hardly surprising, including how liberal of a justice McCain supporters think President Obama should choose.
The funds are for his Country First political action committee, not his campaign, but the Supreme Court fundraising comes as McCain faces a tough primary challenge from conservative JD Hayworth.
“We are often reminded that elections have lasting consequences on our country, and nothing reminds us of this more than when a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court,” McCain writes in the email, believed to reach millions of supporters of his presidential campaign.
He says senators with conservative values like his are underrepresented, and so he wants to fundraise for candidates “who will support Supreme Court nominees who value the Constitution and who will not legislate from the bench.” McCain opposed Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination last summer.
McCain writes in the survey it’s “presumed” Obama will choose a liberal for the vacancy, and asks which flavor of nominee his supporters would prefer:
- A Judicial Conservative, a justice who believes judges should not legislate from the bench.
- A Judicial Liberal, a justice who believes the Constitution is a living document, open to interpretation.
- A Judicial Moderate, a justice who balances both conservative and liberal philosophies.
- Undecided
He also asks if the senate should give the nominee “a swift confirmation” that Obama has asked for, a key issue as Republicans weigh the rarely used judicial filibuster. Among the options for answers: “No, I believe our elected leaders in the Senate have a responsibility to make a careful and educated decision based on a vigorous and thorough examination of the nominee’s qualifications and philosophy.”
The final question is about whether the Obama nominee shares the respondent’s judicial philosophy.
