Land, others oppose Specter chairmanship

By Tom Strode - Nov 15, 2004 - comment

The fate of the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee—and possibly some of President Bush’s judicial nominees—may be hanging in the balance.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania continues to fight to protect his expected ascendancy to the panel’s chairmanship, while some pro-life and pro-family organizations mount opposition to such an event.

Specter, a Republican, has been working to undo the damage from comments he made the day after the Nov. 2 election that were widely interpreted as a warning to Bush not to send to the Senate any Supreme Court nominees who would oppose abortion rights. Specter also reiterated his support for the Roe v. Wade opinion legalizing abortion. When pro-life leaders reacted by announcing their opposition to his expected move to chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the pro-choice senator began denying he had warned the President about nominees and contending he would not block pro-life nominees.

While Specter may satisfy other Republican senators, he appears unlikely to convince some pro-life leaders. For them, Specter’s ill-advised, post-election comments are only the latest in a long list of transgressions against the pro-life movement that dates back to at least 1987. Then, he was a leader in the opposition to Robert Bork, a Reagan Supreme Court nominee who opposed the Roe decision and was rejected by the Senate.

“I don’t see how social conservatives can ever trust a man who led the charge to block Robert Bork from being a Supreme Court justice,” ERLC President Richard Land said Nov. 11. “Arlen Specter has not been a reliable friend of those who want conservative, strict constructionist judges on the federal judiciary.

“People of traditional religious faith didn’t go to the polls and vote overwhelmingly for President Bush only to have his nominees stymied or given only lukewarm support by the chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee,” Land said.

Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and the National Right to Life Committee have been among the leaders in opposing a Specter chairmanship.

Specter is in line for the Judiciary chairmanship because the current chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, is prevented by the party’s term limits from serving more than six years in that role. Specter, who was elected to his fifth term last week, has the most seniority of the remaining committee members. The chairman has the authority to exercise a large amount of control over the confirmation process.

The committee or the entire Republican conference could act to withhold the chairmanship from Specter. Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee could have a decisive role in the decision. Foes of a Specter chairmanship are encouraging pro-life and pro-family Americans to contact Frist and other senators to express their opposition.

You may express your opinion to any senator by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and asking for his office.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Life, Abortion

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