Will Evangelical Leaders Sit in Senate Judiciary 'Hot Seat'?

by Jody Brown
October 25, 2005

(AgapePress) - Will some evangelical leaders be called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee as it considers the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court? If Senator Arlen Specter's statements on national television this weekend carry any weight with the Committee, it could happen.

Specter, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that he is likely to summon Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- and perhaps others -- to testify about assurances they may have been given during a confidential conference call on October 3 about how Miers might rule on a case challenging Roe v. Wade.

The telephone conversation in question involved several members of the Arlington Group, a coalition of more than 20 pro-family leaders, and two Texas judges who know Miss Miers. Dobson is a member of the Arlington Group, along with other evangelical leaders such as Don Wildmon of the American Family Association, Gary Bauer of American Values, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Janet Folger of Faith2Action.

"My instinct is that they'll be called," Specter said on Sunday. "And the American people are entitled to clarification."

Dobson Already Clarified
FRC's Perkins wonders where Specter has been, noting that Dr. Dobson already devoted considerable radio time to sharing what he recalls from the conversation.

Tony Perkins

"The Senator may not be a regular listener to Dr. Dobson's nationally broadcast [radio] program, but his staff should at least inform him that [Dobson] has already clarified his remarks before a radio audience of millions," says the FRC president. On October 12, the Focus on the Family founder stated that those involved in the conference call "did not discuss Roe v. Wade in any context or any other pending issue that will be considered by the [Supreme] Court."

At that time, Dobson had this to say about the possibility of being called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee: "[I]f they want to do that, then I just suggest that they quit talking about [it] and just go do it. I have nothing to hide and I'll be happy to come and talk to [them]. But I won't have anything to say that I haven't just told millions of people [listening to the broadcast]."

That is why Perkins is critical of Arlen Specter's statements on Sunday. "Any effort to haul Dr. Dobson before the Committee should be seen for what it is," he says: "Political grandstanding."

Evidently Gary Bauer might also be in Specter's crosshairs. The former GOP presidential candidate says he met on Monday (October 24) with members of the Committee staff to answer questions about the conference call -- a call that has "Specter and other liberal senators in such a tizzy," he adds.

Gary Bauer

Like Dobson, Bauer denies that any assurances were given that Miers would vote to overturn Roe, the 1973 landmark abortion case. In fact, notes Bauer, his reaction to Miers' nomination would be markedly different if that had happened. "Ironically, if they had given us 'inside information' that she would stop abortion-on-demand, I would be much more likely to support her nomination," he shares.

Get the 'Whole Story'
Both Perkins and Bauer, however, are offering a challenge of sorts to the Judiciary Committee. They say if the senators insist on calling members of the Arlington Group before the Committee to discuss what they were purportedly told about Harriet Miers, they also need to interrogate members of left-wing groups that have worked closely with Democratic senators on previous judicial nominations.

As Bauer points out, "no one on the Left -- not the ACLU or the abortion-on-demand crowd or the homosexual rights groups -- is being threatened by the Committee." He adds there is "evidence" that some Committee members, notably Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer, has "held up judges because of pressure from outside left-wing groups."

Says Bauer: "I would be happy to testify before Kennedy and company -- but I'll insist they call the Left to the witness table, too."

Perkins concurs, offering a specific example. He says outside liberal groups sought to block the confirmation of another of President Bush's conservative judicial nominees, Miguel Estrada, who eventually withdrew his name from consideration.

"Committee files showed that Estrada was opposed for a seat on a U.S. Appeals Court because liberals did not want an Hispanic conservative 'on deck' to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court," Perkins says. "Now, that would be a clarification that Americans genuinely need."

If the Senate Judiciary Committee is intent on getting the "whole story" of judicial confirmations on record, adds Perkins, they ought to start by examining the relationships between members of the Committee and those outside groups.