September 9, 2005

The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Reid:

According to statements published in the Boston Globe, several prominent Senate Democrats have announced plans to exploit the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to launch fresh attacks on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts’ civil rights record. 

This is a new low. 

Judge Roberts’ confirmation hearings come at a time when much of New Orleans remains underwater, bodies are still being recovered, and an entire nation is mourning the crushing losses suffered by hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of its fellow citizens.  Trying to capitalize on the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history for political purposes is both morbid and despicable.

As a senator, and as a representative of your party, you have the ability to stop such an abusive and exploitive political strategy from going any further.  We call on you to use your influence and to publicly reject this kind of nasty, extreme politics that threatens to shred the dignity and civility that should be the form for this confirmation process.

If you need encouragement, look no further than MoveOn.org, maybe the most caustically partisan interest group in Washington.  USA Today had reported on that group’s plans to run a television ad criticizing Judge Roberts’ civil rights record by using images of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.  The group’s advocacy director Ben Brandzel had gone so far as to say, “the connection [between Katrina and Roberts’ record] is obvious.”

However, in the face of withering criticism, MoveOn’s executive director almost immediately backtracked and disavowed any plans for such an ad, saying "We have no plans, and have never had plans, to produce such an ad.”

Translation: Even the most extreme elements of the Democratic Party aren’t willing to stoop that low. 

First the far left, in ads by NARAL that were rejected by the American people, tried to associate Judge Roberts with abortion clinic bombings.  Now, The Boston Globe reveals that Democrats are planning to engage a strategy that blames Judge Roberts for the devastation following in Hurricane Katrina’s wake. 

Politics is a bloodier game than ever, but there are some lines that should not be crossed.  We hope that you and your fellow senators will agree to reject this kind of extreme politics going forward during this confirmation process.  While many Democrat senators stood silent in the face of an outrageously false and nasty advertisement produced by NARAL, we only hope that you will stand up against this latest extreme left wing strategy that will only poor salt on the wounds of a mourning country. 

Sincerely,

Niger Innis
Congress of Racial Equality

Tom Minnery
Focus on the Family

Abigail Thernstrom
US Commission on Civil Rights
Senior Fellow, The Manhattan Institute

Sean Rushton
Committee for Justice

Gary A. Marx
Judicial Confirmation Network

Kay R. Daly
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary

George Landrith
Frontiers of Freedom

Gary Bauer
American Values

Mark Williamson
Federal Intercessors

Jeffrey Mazzella
Center for Individual Freedom

Nina May
Renaissance Women

Genevieve Wood
Center for a Just Society

Tom Shields
Coalition for Marriage and Family

William Murray
Religious Freedom Action Coalition

Leslee Unruh
National Abstinence Clearinghouse

Dr. Carl Herbster
AdvanceUSA

Kenneth Boehm
National Legal and Policy Center

Harvey Tettlebaum
Republican National Lawyers Association

Maurine Proctor
Family Leader Network

James Bopp, Jr.
James Madison Center for Free Speech

Dr. Ken Hutcherson
Mayday For Marriage

Jeff Ballabon
Center for Jewish Values

Mary Ericksen
Illinois Citizens for Life

Manuel Klaus
Individual Rights Foundation

Joseph A. D’Agostino
Population Research Institute

Joseph Cella
Fidelis

Cathie Humbarger
Three Rivers Educational Fund

Jim Martin
60-Plus Association

Thomas A. Glessner, JD
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA)

Austin Ruse
Culture of Life Foundation

Manuel Miranda
Third Branch Conference

Kevin W. Blier
Center for American Cultural Renewal

Jason Wright

Institute for Liberty

J. C. Willke, MD
International Right to Life Federation

Bill May
Catholics for the Common Good

Bradley Mattes
Life Issues Institute

Donald E. Wildmon
American Family Association

Rev. Louis P. Sheldon
Traditional Values Coalition

James Lafferty
Christian Seniors Association

Larry Cirignano
CatholicVote.com

C. Preston Noell III
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

Randy Brinson, MD
Redeem the Vote