Conservative Action Project

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The Conservative Action Project, founded by former Attorney General Edwin Meese and chaired by The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop,

is designed to facilitate conservative leaders working together on behalf of common goals. Participants include the CEO’s of over 100 organizations representing all major elements of the conservative movement-economic, social and national security.

Memo for the Movement

To Presidential Candidates on Supreme Court Justices: 

No More Surprises

October 2, 2015
Washington, DC

The next President is likely to appoint as many as three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, establishing a new majority and shaping the judicial branch for a generation.Those justices will serve for many years after the next President leaves office and their votes will impact every facet of American life.

Will the next President select justices who abide by the text and original meaning of the Constitution, even when doing so is politically unpopular or inconvenient?Or will our system of checks and balances be further damaged by the selection of justices who take for themselves the power to rewrite the Constitution according to their own political preferences?Sadly, despite three Republican presidencies and seven appointments to the Court in the last thirty-five years, we still have a Court that too frequently does the latter.

The undersigned conservative leaders are determined to reverse that trend.To that end, candidates who seek the presidency must, at minimum:

• Commit to nominating justices with a proven, judicial record of upholding the Constitution.No matter their credentials, avoid nominees with thin paper trails who have failed to publicly demonstrate their unwavering commitment to limited, constitutional government.

• Commit to spending the energy and political capital necessary to win a confirmation battle.Liberal activists would do anything to block the appointment of justices in the mold of Scalia, Thomas, or Alito.The next president must demand an up-or-down vote for such justices, and support efforts to eliminate the judicial filibuster.

• Commit to ending the liberal American Bar Association’s preferential role in screening judicial nominees.

• Commit to reminding the justices they appoint that they take an oath to faithfully support and defend the Constitution, and that their oath continues throughout the time they hold office.

 

Hon. Edwin Meese III Former Attorney General President Ronald Reagan	Hon. Becky Norton Dunlop Chairman, Conservative Action Project (CAP) Former White House Advisor, President Ronald Reagan
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell Policy Board Member American Civil Rights Union	L. Brent Bozell, III Chairman ForAmerica
Hon. Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio	Marjorie Dannenfelser President Susan B. Anthony List
William L. Walton Vice President Council for National Policy	Alfred S. Regnery Chairman Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
Hon. David McIntosh Former Member of Congress	The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Former Domestic Advisor President Ronald Reagan
Kelly Shackelford, Esq. President, CEO and Chief Counsel Liberty Institute	Michael Grebe President and CEO The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Ellen L. Barrosse Chairman, Conservative Steering Committee of Republican National Committee	Jay Mount President MDS Communications
Brian Brown President National Organization for Marriage	Lee A. Beaman Owner/CEO Beaman Automotive Group
Frank Schubert President Mission Public Affairs, LLC	James C. Miller III Former OMB Director President Ronald Reagan
Floyd Brown President Western Center for Journalism	John C. Eastman Senior Fellow The Claremont Institute
Bob Adams President Revive America PAC	Col. Clifton P. Schroeder, USMC Retired Member, Council For National Policy
Linwood Bragan Executive Director CapStand Council for Policy and Ethics	Ralph Benko Chairman Center for Civic Virtue
Rick Scarborough President Vision America Action	Quin Hillyer Veteran Conservative Columnist
Michael Farris, JD, LLM	Willes K. Lee Executive Vice President National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Ted Baehr Publisher, MOVIEGUIDE(R) Member, Broadcast Film Critics Association	Christopher N. Malagisi President Young Conservatives Coalition
Seton Motley President Less Government	Richard D. Hayes Partner Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP
Ali Akbar Senior Advisor Black Conservatives Fund	Kevin Kookogey President & Founder Linchpins of Liberty
Dan Weber CEO, Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)	Joseph A. Morris Morris & De La Rosa
Rod D. Martin Founder and CEO The Martin Organization	Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness
Sherri R. Martin The Martin Foundation	Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation
Nicholas Stehle Campaign for the American Future	C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Hon. Sharron Angle President National Federation of Republican Assemblies	Mike Spence President Conservative Republicans of California
Dr. Shawn A. Mitchell National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies	Alex St. James Executive Director Blacks Economic-Security Trust (BEST) Foundation
Hon. Jerry Melvin President Florida Republican Assembly	Andresen Blom Executive Director Grassroot Hawaii Action
Jim Backlin Christian Coalition of America	Larry Cirignano DC Representative Children First Foundation
Ron Robinson President/br>Young America’s Foundation	Matt Schlapp Chairman The American Conservative Union
Kristin Fecteau Co-Founder Campaign to Free America	Dan Schneider Executive Director The American Conservative Union
Gary L. Bauer President American Values	Tom McClusky Vice President March for Life Action
Carrie Severino Chief Counsel and Policy Director Judicial Crisis Network	Hon. Donald J. Devine Former Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Senior Scholar, The Fund for American Studies
Gary Marx Former Executive Director and Board Member Judicial Crisis Network	Mario H. Lopez President Hispanic Leadership Fund
Phillip L. Jauregui President Judicial Action Group	Herman Cain President & C.E.O. www.hermancain.com
Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr. Vice President & Legal Director National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation	Gina Gleason Executive Director Faith and Public Policy
Richard A. Viguerie Chairman ConservativeHQ.com	George Landrith President Frontiers of Freedom
Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund	Curt Levey President The Committee for Justice

(All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only)