Evan McMorris-Santoro April 9, 2010, 7:08 PM

Former Nevada GOP Chair Sue Lowden — now among the slew of Republicans running for the right to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November — might want to consult her high school American Government textbook before she tries to say anything else about the retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

In a press release posted to her campaign website this afternoon, Lowden calls on Reid and President Obama to “cross-party lines” in the wake of the Stevens retirement “and nominate as well as confirm a candidate that will serve with judicial restraint, ruling by the virtue of our Constitution as intended by our Founding Fathers.” That’s all well and good. But then Lowden calls on a third Democrat to reach across the aisle in the Supreme Court selection process: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A quick reminder for Lowden and anyone else who might be just a little confused: only the President can nominate Supreme Court justices, and only the Senate can confirm them.

Here’s Lowden’s full quote from the release:

“I want to thank Justice Stevens for his years of service on the bench,” said Lowden. “The announcement of his retirement opens the door for President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to cross party lines and nominate as well as confirm a candidate that will serve with judicial restraint, ruling by the virtue of our Constitution as intended by our Founding Fathers. It is clear that Justice Stevens’ successor will hold great responsibility, and it is imperative the he or she defend our freedoms, support state’s rights and ensure the hand of the law does not impede our Constitution.”

Here’s the whole release:

Sue Lowden Calls On Harry Reid And His D.C. Allies To Cross Party Lines In The Search For A New Supreme Court Justice

Friday, April 9th, 2010

GOP Frontrunner Issues Statement on Supreme Court Justice Retirement

(Las Vegas, NV) — Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden responded to the retirement announcement by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Stevens has served on the high court since 1975, when he was appointed by President Gerald Ford. This will be the second nominee of President Obama’s administration.

“I want to thank Justice Stevens for his years of service on the bench,” said Lowden. “The announcement of his retirement opens the door for President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to cross party lines and nominate as well as confirm a candidate that will serve with judicial restraint, ruling by the virtue of our Constitution as intended by our Founding Fathers. It is clear that Justice Stevens’ successor will hold great responsibility, and it is imperative the he or she defend our freedoms, support state’s rights and ensure the hand of the law does not impede our Constitution.”

BACKGROUND:

Sue Lowden officially launched her campaign for U.S. Senate on October 1, 2009. As a former Nevada State Senator and conservative businesswoman, Sue is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination against a number of other candidates. The recent Mason-Dixon/Review-Journal poll had Sue up by 18% in the GOP primary. The same poll had Sue up by 13% against Harry Reid.

In her solutions-based campaign, Sue Lowden has offered a number of policy positions on her web page describing how we can begin creating jobs again in Nevada and throughout America, as well as how we can lessen the cost of health insurance so more Nevadans can afford to pay needed coverage. Further, Lowden has called for immediate, across-the-board spending cuts to reduce our deficit, and support for efforts to repay taxpayers the unspent TARP money as well as unspent federal stimulus dollars.

Despite record unemployment, record home foreclosures and record bankruptcies, Harry Reid stated on the record: “If the election were held today, I’d win.” It is time to set the record straight and prove to Senator Reid his re-election is a long shot.

NV-SEN, Sue Lowden, Supreme Court