Alito Nomination Front and Center for 'Justice Sunday III'
by Allie Martin, Bill Fancher, and Jody Brown
January 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Christian conservatives will gather in Philadelphia on the eve of Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The Family Research Council is organizing "Justice Sunday III," an informational event at Greater Exodus Baptist Church which hundreds of people are expected to attend. The goal is to place the spotlight on socially liberal court rulings. A number of speakers are scheduled to appear at the Sunday evening event on January 8. Among them are Dr. Jerry Falwell, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, and Republican Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Charmaine Yoest, a spokesperson for Justice Sunday III, says the theme is "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land." She points out that one of the major issues facing the nation today is appointments to federal judicial posts.
"Right now we're looking at the [Samuel] Alito nomination," Yoest explains. "As we look at these appointments to the Supreme Court, this is going to change the future of our culture for generations to come."
She says her organization hopes to play a critical role in that future. "We at the Family Research Council are very concerned to make sure that people of faith understand the importance of judicial appointments and about how they can plug into that process," she states.
According to the event spokesperson, the rally hopes to convey the need to reform the federal judiciary. She offers a relevant example. "It's become pretty clear, actually, that Judge Alito is pro-life; he's Catholic," she says. "There are people who are saying that [for that reason] maybe he shouldn't be allowed to be on the [Supreme] Court.
"We just want to stand up and say that that's simply not true, that he shouldn't be disqualified from serving on the highest court in the land simply because he's Catholic."
Justice Sunday III is scheduled to be broadcast live on Sky Angle, American Family Radio, and the Bott Radio Network. It is the third such "Justice Sunday" broadcast within the past year.
Vote Pending -- But When?
While Justice Sunday III is preparing to put the focus on the Alito nomination, both supporters and opponents of the nominee have been busy gearing up for the opening of confirmation hearings. For example, several environmental and pro-abortion organizations have held press conferences this week to attack Alito's nomination. That despite the fact practically every major poll shows a majority of Americans support his confirmation.
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Senator Sam Brownback |
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expects the fight over Alito's nomination will be intense. "Paid advertising campaigns are stepping up, [and] Democratic senators have not removed the possibility of a filibuster," Brownback shares. He believes a filibuster "would be absolutely wrong for them to do on such an outstanding nominee."
But the Republican lawmaker says supporters of Judge Alito are ready to fight back any filibuster attempt. "I believe we will ultimately get that up-or-down vote," he says. "Whether we have to change the rules or not will be up to the Senate Democrats."
According to Brownback, Alito would bring several positives to the Supreme Court, including judicial restraint and a renewed respect for the U.S. Constitution.
Meanwhile, Texas Senator John Cornyn, another Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, is reacting to reported plans to delay for one week a committee vote on Alito's nomination. He says that is contrary to what was agreed to in December when Democrats demanded a delay on the hearings until January to allow them adequate time to examine the nominee's record.
"They have now had far more time to examine his record than the Committee had to examine the records of [past nominees and now Supreme Court justices] Ginsberg or Breyer," he points out.
Cornyn says he is hopeful the reports of another delay, even by one week, are inaccurate. "The only purpose the delay would serve would be to give those on the Committee who are already intending to vote against Judge Alito more time to find a justification for their negative vote," he states.
The senator adds that, if the reports of a voting delay are indeed true, it would represent a "further coarsening" of the judicial confirmation process -- as well as "another partisan, obstructionist tactic" by a minority group of Senate lawmakers who he says are "frustrated that their views do not prevail at the ballot box."
