Post by Moses on Feb 16, 2005 10:53:59 GMT -5
(What is the tax status of his organization?)
Pat Robertson Warns Democrats on Judicial Nominees
Tue Feb 15, 2005 05:12 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson warned on Tuesday that Democrats would pay at the ballot box if they oppose President Bush's judicial nominees.
Robertson, head of the Christian Broadcasting Network and one of the original leaders of the grass-roots Christian conservative political movement, urged Senate Republicans to change the chamber's rules to prevent Democratic filibusters against the nominees.
Asked during an appearance at the National Press Club to name his top three moral issues, Robertson said, "Judges, judges, judges."
On Monday, Bush renominated 20 potential judges who had failed to win Senate confirmation during the last session of Congress, setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats who have denounced the appointments as too extreme.
Robertson said the re-election loss in November by former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota senator who led the earlier fight against Bush's nominees, should serve as a warning.
"The defeat of the former minority leader of the Senate sends a clear message that obstructionism, especially when it concerns the confirmation of judges, does not sit well with American voters," Robertson said. [South Dakota is NOT America-- it is such a small state I think they only have one congressional representative-- and if the South Dakotans choose to loose the unwarranted clout they had w/ Tom Daschle, so be it!]
The Republican election win in November, which exit polls showed was helped by a strong turnout among Christian conservatives, has given leaders like Robertson new influence in recent months.
Many Christian conservative groups have been pushing for an ambitious legislative agenda. Robertson said he was not concerned that a lengthy fight over judicial nominees would derail other priorities.
Senate Republican leader Bill Frist has threatened to change the Senate's rules to prevent Democrats from using the procedural roadblock, known as a filibuster, against Bush's judicial nominees.
Sixty votes are needed in the 100-member Senate to break a filibuster. Republicans hold 55 seats, but could change the Senate's rules regarding filibusters with a 51-vote majority.
"The Senate Republicans have the votes to force up-or-down votes on the confirmation of the president's judicial appointees," Robertson said. "Majority vote, not the filibuster, is the American way."
Robertson said he would not support a litmus test on abortion for prospective Supreme Court nominees, but he wanted to see judges who "defend the Constitution, not rewrite it."
He said he supported Bush's efforts to change the Social Security retirement system and create private investment accounts, but he took a shot at politicians who have not been able to rein in a growing budget deficit.
"We deplore the unbelievable fiscal excesses of elected representatives of both major parties," he said.