Bauer: 'Witch Hunt' Beginning on Supreme Court Nominee Roberts
by Jody Brown and Rusty Pugh
July 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - It was in the late 1940s that alleged communists in Hollywood were called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Now, almost 60 years later, a similar tactic apparently is being considered to undermine the nomination of John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court.According to conservative activist Gary Bauer of American Values, the "radical Left" in the nation's capital is pulling out all the stops in their quest to find something worthy of attack during the confirmation hearings for Roberts, which are scheduled to begin right after the Labor Day weekend. One of those tactics, he says is "guilt by association."
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Gary Bauer |
While the liberal groups are not suggesting that Judge Roberts is a "closet fascist or communist," Bauer says they are arguing he is a "closet conservative ... and they are citing me and others as the evidence."Bauer says the Alliance for Justice, a Washington, DC-based organization -- which he describes as "an umbrella coalition on the Left" -- has released a report attacking Roberts and citing the fact that both Bauer and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson approve of the nomination of the DC Circuit Court judge.
"They alleged that we have secret information about Roberts that the public doesn't," says Bauer. In addition, he says, the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America -- via a Freedom of Information request -- is demanding records of any communication about Roberts between the White House and several family advocacy groups, including Bauer's American Values. The conservative leader sees these tactics as an act of desperation.
"[T]he Left is becoming a caricature of itself," he says in a statement to his supporters. "Witch hunts are not pretty to watch, and the Left used to be against them. Now they are so fearful of losing their stranglehold on the courts that they are 'coming unglued.'"
But not all conservative organizations are jumping on the John Roberts bandwagon. At least one pro-life group points out that Roberts has stated that he considers Roe v. Wade "the settled law of the land." American Life League president Judie Brown says there is a danger in so many people jumping to the conclusion that Roberts is pro-life -- an aspect of the nominee leanings that is not known for sure.
"American Life League has never described Roberts as pro-life. We don't know that," Brown states. "All we know about him is that he is a strict interpreter of the Constitution, which is presumably why he has made the statement he has about Roe v. Wade being 'settled law.'"
Brown notes that "what people seem to forget is that the one aspect of Roe v. Wade that has never been brought before the Supreme Court is whether or not the human being in the womb is actually a human being who deserves protection under the Constitution." The ALL president says until that type of case is brought before the high court, it will continue to reaffirm Roe v. Wade.
