[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                          SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, from the day she became the first woman 
to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor has been an 
inspiration for millions of Americans, particularly for women and 
girls. I know this is true because she inspired me.
  I was a young woman in my twenties serving in the Louisiana State 
Legislature when Justice O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court, 
and I remember that day very clearly. I always knew I wanted to serve 
the people of my country, and on that day I realized that there was no 
limit to what one woman could do.
  And today, 24 years later, I am a woman standing on the floor of the 
U.S. Senate while the number of women in the Louisiana State 
Legislature has grown from 2 to 24. We all owe a great debt to 
pioneering women like Sandra Day O'Connor who broke the judicial glass 
ceiling and paved the way for me and for millions of other women.
  But O'Connor's legacy is not limited to the barriers she broke. 
Throughout her 24 years of service, Justice O'Connor has proven herself 
to be one of our Nation's leading legal scholars, consistently putting 
the rule of law ahead of politics. She has been a champion of the law, 
a champion for our rights, and a champion for our country.
  Finding an appropriate successor to such a dedicated jurist is a 
heavy task indeed.
  To protect the rights and liberties of all Americans, there is 
perhaps no more important decision a President makes than nominating a 
Justice to the Supreme Court. I strongly urge President Bush to rise 
above the partisan politics that have gripped recent judicial 
confirmations and to reach out to both Republican and Democratic 
Senators as he selects a nominee to succeed Justice O'Connor.
  It is the Senate's constitutional duty to provide advice and consent. 
To provide real advice and to grant real consent, every single Senator 
must weigh the nomination carefully and consciously.
  Senators from both sides of the aisle must come together to ensure 
that the next member of the Supreme Court will uphold the rights of the 
American people and base his or her decisions on the law and the 
Constitution--not on political ideology.
  I hope President Bush will join us in this partnership and allow us 
to provide real advice at this historic time.
  Working together, I am confident that we can find a suitable Justice 
who will follow the great precedent of Sandra Day O'Connor.

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