May 11, 2003
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The Karl Rove PR Machine Keeps All the Right Wing Shills on Message Point, Even Jerry Falwell
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
How does the Republican PR machine so effectively decimate the Democrats?
For one thing, everyone in the vast right wing communications army -- from the lowliest FOX News reporter to Jerry Falwell -- stays on message, whatever the bullet points are for the day.
Just look at the latest Falwell e-mail alert focusing on how the Democrats are "obstructing" the judicial nomination process. It was sent out on the same day that Bush, in true Orwellian fashion, blasted the Democrats for "obstructing" his nomination of ultra right wing lawyers Estrada and Owens to the federal bench.
Then take a look at the GOP alert of the day to "GOP Team Leaders."
And there are hundreds of other right wing shills, in the media and out of it, echoing the same message point. It happens day in and day out. And that's how they keep the Democrats on the defensive.
Of course, it would help if the Democratic leadership took the offensive and fought back. But that would be too much to ask for, wouldn't it?
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From Jerry Falwell "Liberty" E-mail Alert
DATE: May 9, 2003
FROM: Jerry Falwell
ENDING THE FILIBUSTER TRAVESTY
In times past, a "well qualified" rating from the influential American Bar Association virtually predestined the Senate approval of a presidential nomination to a federal court bench.
No more.
In today's political charade of a confirmation process, "well qualified" judicial candidates are often treated as malicious villains if they do not meet the shadowy new doctrine established by Senate Democrats who are slaves to the abortion-rights community.
For the past two years - two years! - two of President Bush's judicial nominees, Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen, have been maligned and smeared by Senate Democrats who have ignored their superb and celebrated legal careers.
The reason? Neither nominee has endorsed the ambiguous "right to privacy" that abortion supporters declare is to be found in the U.S. Constitution.
And therein lies the major problem. Liberals believe that the Constitution is a "living document" that can be altered to correspond to their ever-shifting "morals."
Thomas Jipping, senior fellow in legal studies at Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest public policy women's organization, said recently, "The only thing that matters to the left is whether judicial nominees can be counted on to deliver a political agenda."
But, as President Bush pointed out, it is Justices Estrada and Owen who represent the mainstream of American law and American values.
What to do?
The Virginia Beach-based American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, released a report this week indicating that a simple majority in the U.S. Senate - 51 senators - could act immediately to end filibusters in the Senate over the two nominees now hanging in the balance.
The ACLJ has presented its findings to members of the U.S. Senate, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. (The ACLJ report is posted at www.aclj.org.)
"The simple majority principle presents the clearest and best resolution of this conflict involving judicial nominees," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. "It is clear through our research and legal analysis that a simple majority of the Senate may determine the rules by which it proceeds and may bring an immediate end to the filibusters. While the Constitution gives great latitude to Congress itself on how to operate, there is nothing in the Constitution to prevent a simple majority of senators to act to change their rules and bring an end to the obstructionist tactics being used against nominees."
Mr. Sekulow added: "It is our hope that a simple majority in the Senate assert its authority and act to bring an end to a destructive strategy aimed at the confirmation process - a process that is clearly broken."
The ACLJ believes the "clearest and best resolution of the present conflict" is the simple majority option. The ACLJ determined that there is existing legal and Senate precedence that would permit the majority (51 senators) to change Rule XXII, bring an end to the filibusters, and call for a vote by the full Senate on Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen.
"There is no easy solution to resolving this current conflict," said Mr. Sekulow. "However, there is significant reason to believe that if a willing majority acted immediately to resolve this crisis, those efforts would succeed and survive any legal challenges that may be brought."
The Republican leadership also has a plan of action called a "nuclear option." As it stands now, 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster. The GOP resolution, co-sponsored by several senators, would require only 60 votes in the first attempt at evoking cloture. In each attempt after that, the vote requirement would drop by three until it reaches a simple majority (51 votes).
Paul Weyrich, founder and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation, said this plan would be aggressively denounced by Democrats and the so-called mainstream print media, but that's not as big an issue as it once was.
As Mr. Weyrich notes, "Fewer and fewer people rely on newspapers and the traditional print media for their information. Most people get their news about politics and government from the broadcast media. Conservatives dominate talk radio and the Fox News Channel is the fastest growing channel in news/talk television. Then, there is the Internet. All the big web pages are conservative. The liberal media is in a state of significant decline. [Therefore], the Republican senators can get by with doing what Senator Talent suggests and survive politically."
So it appears there are solutions to the dishonest filibuster that is now taking place. Let us pray that courageous Republicans will be able to stir support for ending the politically-motivated roadblocks that have been set up to prevent highly qualified individuals from serving in the federal courts.
Meanwhile, you can help. Please call the Capitol Switchboard to contact your senators (202-224-3121) and courteously request that they call for an immediate vote on Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen and vote for their confirmations.
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From "GOP Team Leader" E-mail Alert
Judicial Corner
Democrat Filibuster of Qualified Nominees Continues, "Obstruction Day" Announced
On May 9, 2001, President Bush nominated Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen to the federal bench. Two years and many Democrat filibusters later they have yet to be confirmed. This is the first time in history that simultaneous filibusters against judicial nominees have occurred. So this Friday, May 9, supporters of the President's qualified nominees are making their voice heard with rallies and phone calls to Hillary Clinton, Tom Daschle and the other Democrat obstructionists.
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BuzzFlash Comment
Of course, the Democrats have offered no significant public relations counter attack to Bush. All Tom Daschle had to lamely say in response was "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Maybe Tom is keeping his usual "low profile" approach to "leadership" because, once again, he is more concerned about his standing in "Super-Red State" South Dakota than leading the national Democratic Party.
Our prediction is that Daschle and the Democrats in the Senate will eventually cave in and end the filibusters because the White House propaganda machine will make them look like the "obstructionist" bad guys.
The Democrats will not be able to start putting the White House on the defensive until Daschle steps down from his Senate leadership position and someone replaces him who understands how to define the Republicans.
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BUZZFLASH NOTE: Note the common tactic of setting up right wing organizations with names that sound the opposite of what they actually are: e.g., American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). Of course, this is meant to confuse people by appearing to be the ACLU, but, in reality, being just the opposite. The right wing also sets up groups with names that include "civil rights," when the groups actually oppose civil rights. It's a frequently used propaganda technique worthy of a totalitarian regime.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
