Letter: Tell Senators to follow the Constitution

Justice Antonin Scalia was an originalist. He believed the Constitution means what the writers originally meant it to mean.

There is no provision in the Constitution saying that a justice should not be nominated or confirmed in the final year of a term. To get around that fact, Sen. Chuck Grassley falsely claimed that there is a 'standard practice” of not confirming justices in a president's final year. The Gazette Fact Checker gave that claim a - generous - D. (Using Grassley's logic, he should not have supported Joni Ernst because Iowa had a standard practice of not electing female senators.)

I used to be proud of our Iowa congresspeople. Even when I disagreed with them, they at least seemed honest. Sadly, that is no longer true. Tell our senators that we expect them to do their jobs. Tell them to honor Scalia by following the Constitution. If they won't do their jobs, vote them out.

Rex Clemmensen

Iowa City