Letter: Grassley doesn’t stand for Iowa values

Sen. Chuck Grassley no longer represents Iowans by refusing to act on replacing late Justice Antonin Scalia.

The founders intended the Supreme Court to have nine justices. The Constitution lays out the roles of the president to nominate and the Senate to 'advice and consent.” The Constitution was written with checks and balances. Courts are intended to be free from the influence of politics. The American people elect their legislators, but they don't elect judges. It's an American value in order to protect judicial impartiality.

Blanket refusal is political theater and not what we stand for in Iowa. If Grassley refuses to hold a hearing on a justice because of the party the president belongs to, he doesn't stand for Iowa and should be voted out. Grassley is embarrassing our state on the national stage. Our state is about compromise and following the rule of law. We are above political theater. Maybe it's time for Grassley to retire.

Natalie Harwood

Cedar Rapids