Sen. Grassley "hoist with his own petard."

"Hoist with your own petard," loosely translated means getting caught in a trap you set for someone else.   This has just happened to Senator Chuck Grassley -- and by a high school student !!

Sen. Grassley, (R-IA) is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the one who is refusing to give a hearing to President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, saying that he is a lame duck president and the nomination should be left to the next president.   Or, as he likes to state, piously, "Let the people decide."

Jake Smith is a high school senior in Des Moines and thus a constituent of Sen. Grassley, who represents Iowa.    Jake wrote an open letter that was published in the Des Moines Register:

An Open Letter to Senator Grassley,

This year I and thousands of other young Iowans will be voting in their first election.

The argument many Republicans are making is that Barack Obama is a “lame duck” president, and, because “the people have not spoken,” he should not be allowed to nominate a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia.

However, you are running for reelection in Iowa this November. At that time, Iowans will go to the polls and their voice will be heard. Until then, who speaks for the people of Iowa? You, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, carry significant power in determining who gets to become the next Supreme Court Justice. But senator, since you, too, are in an election year, how can you possess the authority to make a decision that will affect the future of our country if “the people have not yet spoken”? Following the direction of the Republican’s logic, I politely ask you to step aside as chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee until the elections take place.

If you want to make critical decisions based on a constructed rationale, at least apply your creative thinking to all elected officials — including yourself.

— Jake Smith, senior, Roosevelt High School

Responding to a call from the Huffington Post, Jake said that he will be starting college this fall, and he plans to major in political science.

Ralph