Sprigg: Filibuster Controversy a Constitutional Issue, Not Religious
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
April 28, 2005
(AgapePress) - An official with the Family Research Council says it is vital for senators to be able to vote on judicial nominees without the threat of a filibuster.The Washington, DC-based FRC reports that last weekend's "Justice Sunday" simulcast to millions of Americans was a success. The telecast from Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday evening (April 24) featured speakers such as Chuck Colson, Dr. James Dobson, Albert Mohler, Jr., and Judge Charles Pickering. They encouraged concerned Christians to restore the constitutional standard of a simple majority to approve a judicial nominee to the federal bench.
Evidently the message got through. FRC reported the following day that phone calls to U.S. senators were running "heavy" and that it was impossible to get through to some of the lawmakers. "Already some leading Senate Democrats are urging their colleagues to back off [the filibuster]," said FRC president Tony Perkins on Monday. "People of traditional religious faith and those of a conservative judicial philosophy have as much right as anyone else to have their qualifications evaluated, in an open, majority vote, by the Senate."
| | 
Peter Sprigg |
Peter Sprigg is senior director of policy studies at FRC, as well as director of the organization's Center for Marriage and Family Studies. Sprigg, speaking on the Fox News Channel, says judicial nominees should not have to choose between public service and faith. He contends that the issue is about the Constitution, not religion."When it comes to judicial nominations, the primary responsibility for that rests with the president," Sprigg says. "The Senate's role is merely to give its advice and consent, and we believe that means a straight up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate when a candidate obviously has majority support from the Senate. So this is really a constitutional issue, not a biblical issue."
And like Perkins, Sprigg says people of faith and conservative values have every right to serve in the judiciary.
"We're not saying that, as some have claimed, that Democrats cannot be people of faith or that liberals cannot be people of faith. We have never said that," he explains. "But we do believe that Democratic senators are exhibiting a hostility to certain people -- judicial nominees -- who happen to hold a conservative Christian faith."
Vote -- Don't Obstruct
A faith-based group in Florida has launched a campaign that offers individuals a creative way to let their U.S. senators know they expect the lawmakers to vote, not obstruct, judicial nominees. Janet Folger of Faith2Action explains people can "make their point" and have a "hands-on approach" through the campaign BlueFingerVote.com.
Janet Folger | |
"We've all seen these foam fingers at sporting and similar events across the country," Folger says. "Now we can see them in the offices and halls of our senators -- by the thousands! What a powerful way to express the frustration this country is feeling over the obstructionist tactics being used against the president's judicial nominees."The BlueFingerVote.com campaign comes in the form of a blue finger -- an 18-inch foam hand with an extended, blue index finger that says "Vote -- Don't Obstruct." Via the campaign's website, individuals can either have a "Blue Finger" sent to each of their two senators, or they can order some for themselves. Another option allows the foam hand to be sent directly to any of the 12 Republican senators the campaign says is "wavering" on the issue.
Fully cognizant of the pun, Folger adds that it is apparent the Senate "needs a hand" getting the message that "now is the time to give the judges their vote and to stop their obstructionism."
