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Salazar on task

On March 1, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado urged President Bush to withdraw all of his renominated judicial candidates. As Colorado's former attorney general, Salazar knows a thing or two about judicial process.

The development coincided with the Senate Judiciary Committee's first hearing for one of those blocked nominees, William Myers, once the top lawyer at the Interior Department.

But Myers' nomination is one that Salazar is asking the president to abandon. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said about Myers: "Your record screams 'passionate activist.' It doesn't so much as whisper 'impartial judge.'"

I would like to congratulate Salazar for standing up and acting for the common good of all Americans. Salazar has taken a bold step forward by questioning the controversial renominations. He needs to stay strong on his promise to protect Colorado's land and water and vote against these extreme judge candidates, like Myers.

Salazar, who some Republicans had suggested might be willing to vote with them for certain nominees, wrote Bush asking him to withdraw all of the candidates Democrats blocked in the Senate during the president's first term. "The decision to renominate these individuals will undoubtedly create the animosity and divisiveness ... that is not helpful to our nation and will sidetrack our collective efforts to work on other crucial matters," he wrote.

Our judicial system needs judges who will enforce legislation enacted by Congress. The federal courts are vital to protecting our clean air, clean water, public lands and public health. Citizens' access to courts allows the public to hold polluters accountable when they break environmental laws. At the same time, we also need judges who will stand up to polluting companies that are using the courts to challenge the laws responsible for environmental progress during the past 30 years.

Thanks again to Colorado's Sen. Ken Salazar.

Richard Levy

Steamboat Springs