To the editor:

The actions of Sens. Roberts and Moran to torpedo the nomination of Steve Six to the federal bench are a disgrace to the state of Kansas and to the Senate. Mr. Six was the most effective attorney general Kansas has had since my return to my home state (1982) and could have made a fine, moderate federal judge, but for their actions.

Derek Schmidt rode the Republican wave in Kansas to defeat Six for re-election on a single issue: his decision not to waste taxpayer’s money by joining the lawsuit challenging the Healthcare Reform Act. Sen. Roberts’ statement that this “runs counter to … the decisions of two federal judges” (Journal-World, July 27) was disingenuous. Two other federal judges supported its constitutionality.

Equally dodgy was his assertion, “the average citizen can identify the constitutional defects of Obamacare [sic].” This is still a matter of hot debate among legal scholars, and will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, one hopes on constitutional, rather than ideological, grounds.

Mr. Six’s nomination had strong bipartisan support from legal experts. That Roberts and Moran reversed their initial positions and blocked this highly qualified nominee from even getting a vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee is very disappointing and highly undemocratic. The stated reasons are transparently political and ideological. The state and the nation have not been well served by their actions.