New York Times
April 15, 2005
Frist Set to Join Religious Effort on Judicial Issue
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON - As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules
governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority
leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian
conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of
faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.

Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and
scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April
24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a
Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name
participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of
faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial
bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

Organizers say they hope to reach more than a million people by
distributing the telecast to churches around the country, over the
Internet and over Christian television and radio networks and stations.

Dr. Frist's spokesman said the senator's speech in the telecast would
reflect his previous remarks on judicial appointments. In the past he
has consistently balanced a determination "not to yield" on the
president's nominees with appeals to the Democrats for compromise. He
has distanced himself from the statements of others like the House
majority leader, Tom DeLay, who have attacked the courts, saying they
are too liberal, "run amok" or are hostile to Christianity.

The telecast, however, will put Dr. Frist in a very different context.
Asked about Dr. Frist's participation in an event describing the
filibuster "as against people of faith," his spokesman, Bob Stevenson,
did not answer the question directly.

"Senator Frist is doing everything he can to ensure judicial nominees
are treated fairly and that every senator has the opportunity to give
the president their advice and consent through an up or down vote," Mr.
Stevenson said, adding, "He has spoken to groups all across the nation
to press that point, and as long as a minority of Democrats continue to
block a vote, he will continue to do so."

Some of the nation's most influential evangelical Protestants are
participating in the teleconference in Louisville, including Dr. James
C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Chuck Colson, the born-again
Watergate figure and founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; and Dr.
Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The event is taking place as Democrats and Republicans alike are
escalating their public relations campaigns in anticipation of an
imminent confrontation. The Democratic minority has blocked
confirmation of 10 of President Bush's judicial nominees by preventing
Republicans from gaining the 60 votes needed to close debate, using the
filibuster tactic often used by political minorities and most
notoriously employed by opponents of civil rights.

Dr. Frist has threatened that the Republican majority might change the
rules to require only a majority vote on nominees, and Democrats have
vowed to bring Senate business to a standstill if he does.

On Thursday, one wavering Republican, Senator John McCain of Arizona,
told the television interviewer Chris Matthews that he would vote
against the change.

"By the way, when Bill Clinton was president, we, effectively, in the
Judiciary Committee blocked a number of his nominees," Mr. McCain said.

On Thursday the Judiciary Committee sent the nomination of Thomas B.
Griffith for an appellate court post to the Senate floor. Democrats say
they do not intend to block Mr. Griffith's nomination.

That cleared the way for the committee to approve several previously
blocked judicial appointees in the next two weeks.

The telecast also signals an escalation of the campaign for the rule
change by Christian conservatives who see the current court battle as
the climax of a 30-year culture war, a chance to reverse decades of
legal decisions about abortion, religion in public life, gay rights and
marriage.

"As the liberal, anti-Christian dogma of the left has been repudiated
in almost every recent election, the courts have become the last great
bastion for liberalism," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research
Council and organizer of the telecast, wrote in a message on the
group's Web site. "For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest
groups like the A.C.L.U., have been quietly working under the veil of
the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian
heritage and our religious freedoms."

Democrats accused Dr. Frist of exploiting religious faith for political
ends by joining the telecast. "No party has a monopoly on faith, and
for Senator Frist to participate in this kind of telecast just throws
more oil on the partisan flames," said Senator Charles E. Schumer,
Democrat of New York.

But Mr. Perkins stood by the characterization of Democrats as hostile
to faith. "What they have done is, they have targeted people for
reasons of their faith or moral position," he said, referring to
Democratic criticisms of nominees over their views of cases about
abortion rights or public religious expressions.

"The issue of the judiciary is really something that has been veiled by
this 'judicial mystique' so our folks don't really understand it, but
they are beginning to connect the dots," Mr. Perkins said in an
interview, reciting a string of court decisions about prayer or
displays of religion.

"They were all brought about by the courts," he said.

Democrats, for their part, are already stepping up their efforts to
link Dr. Frist and the rule change with conservatives statements about
unaccountable judges hostile to faith.

On Thursday, Mr. Schumer released an open letter calling on Dr. Frist
to denounce such attacks. "The last thing we need is inflammatory
rhetoric which on its face encourages violence against judges," he
wrote.

=========================================================

New York Times
April 15, 2005
Frist Set to Join Religious Effort on Judicial Issue
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

New York Times
April 15, 2005
Frist Set to Join Religious Effort on Judicial Issue
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON - As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules
governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority
leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian
conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of
faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.

Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and
scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April
24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a
Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name
participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of
faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial
bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

Organizers say they hope to reach more than a million people by
distributing the telecast to churches around the country, over the
Internet and over Christian television and radio networks and stations.

Dr. Frist's spokesman said the senator's speech in the telecast would
reflect his previous remarks on judicial appointments. In the past he
has consistently balanced a determination "not to yield" on the
president's nominees with appeals to the Democrats for compromise. He
has distanced himself from the statements of others like the House
majority leader, Tom DeLay, who have attacked the courts, saying they
are too liberal, "run amok" or are hostile to Christianity.

The telecast, however, will put Dr. Frist in a very different context.
Asked about Dr. Frist's participation in an event describing the
filibuster "as against people of faith," his spokesman, Bob Stevenson,
did not answer the question directly.

"Senator Frist is doing everything he can to ensure judicial nominees
are treated fairly and that every senator has the opportunity to give
the president their advice and consent through an up or down vote," Mr.
Stevenson said, adding, "He has spoken to groups all across the nation
to press that point, and as long as a minority of Democrats continue to
block a vote, he will continue to do so."

Some of the nation's most influential evangelical Protestants are
participating in the teleconference in Louisville, including Dr. James
C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Chuck Colson, the born-again
Watergate figure and founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; and Dr.
Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The event is taking place as Democrats and Republicans alike are
escalating their public relations campaigns in anticipation of an
imminent confrontation. The Democratic minority has blocked
confirmation of 10 of President Bush's judicial nominees by preventing
Republicans from gaining the 60 votes needed to close debate, using the
filibuster tactic often used by political minorities and most
notoriously employed by opponents of civil rights.

Dr. Frist has threatened that the Republican majority might change the
rules to require only a majority vote on nominees, and Democrats have
vowed to bring Senate business to a standstill if he does.

On Thursday, one wavering Republican, Senator John McCain of Arizona,
told the television interviewer Chris Matthews that he would vote
against the change.

"By the way, when Bill Clinton was president, we, effectively, in the
Judiciary Committee blocked a number of his nominees," Mr. McCain said.

On Thursday the Judiciary Committee sent the nomination of Thomas B.
Griffith for an appellate court post to the Senate floor. Democrats say
they do not intend to block Mr. Griffith's nomination.

That cleared the way for the committee to approve several previously
blocked judicial appointees in the next two weeks.

The telecast also signals an escalation of the campaign for the rule
change by Christian conservatives who see the current court battle as
the climax of a 30-year culture war, a chance to reverse decades of
legal decisions about abortion, religion in public life, gay rights and
marriage.

"As the liberal, anti-Christian dogma of the left has been repudiated
in almost every recent election, the courts have become the last great
bastion for liberalism," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research
Council and organizer of the telecast, wrote in a message on the
group's Web site. "For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest
groups like the A.C.L.U., have been quietly working under the veil of
the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian
heritage and our religious freedoms."

Democrats accused Dr. Frist of exploiting religious faith for political
ends by joining the telecast. "No party has a monopoly on faith, and
for Senator Frist to participate in this kind of telecast just throws
more oil on the partisan flames," said Senator Charles E. Schumer,
Democrat of New York.

But Mr. Perkins stood by the characterization of Democrats as hostile
to faith. "What they have done is, they have targeted people for
reasons of their faith or moral position," he said, referring to
Democratic criticisms of nominees over their views of cases about
abortion rights or public religious expressions.

"The issue of the judiciary is really something that has been veiled by
this 'judicial mystique' so our folks don't really understand it, but
they are beginning to connect the dots," Mr. Perkins said in an
interview, reciting a string of court decisions about prayer or
displays of religion.

"They were all brought about by the courts," he said.

Democrats, for their part, are already stepping up their efforts to
link Dr. Frist and the rule change with conservatives statements about
unaccountable judges hostile to faith.

On Thursday, Mr. Schumer released an open letter calling on Dr. Frist
to denounce such attacks. "The last thing we need is inflammatory
rhetoric which on its face encourages violence against judges," he
wrote.

=========================================================