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May 6, 2005
Democrats a little 'shifty'By J.C. WATTS Remember the 1988 presidential race? Sen. Bob Dole and a Christian broadcaster named Pat Robertson, who was oft criticized for mixing religion and politics, challenged Vice President Bush. Somehow, somewhere, it has been determined that people of faith - specifically conservative people of faith - are to sit back and quietly and subserviently accept whatever policies are thrust upon them. That same year, future Vice President Al Gore, Gov. Michael Dukakis, Congressman Dick Gephardt, Sen. Paul Simon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson competed for the Democrat nomination. Rev. Jackson was not oft criticized for mixing religion and politics. Forget the fact that he delivered campaign speeches on Sunday mornings in pulpits all across the country, and registered new voters in those same churches. The media watchdogs turned a blind eye to this abuse of the pulpit. I was reminded of all this over the past couple of weeks as I witnessed all the hullabaloo over Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's involvement in Justice Sunday. Justice Sunday was a national satellite rally in support of President Bush's right to have his judicial nominees afforded a simple up-or-down vote by the ever-obstructionist minority in the United States Senate. Senator Frist joined Chuck Colson, James Dobson and other conservative leaders in the event, which was beamed to churches and homes across the country. Hypocrisy aboundeth. Those same Democrats and media sympathizers looked the other way and even offered aid and comfort to Rev. Jackson's political machine as it electioneered and registered voters in houses of worship in 1988 - snubbing the spirit, if not the intent, of the tax-free status of churches. Senator Frist simply exercised his constitutional right of free speech to generate support for a constitutional process. He did not ask for votes, or encourage anyone to inject themselves into politics. Meanwhile, for daring to state his concerns in front of thousands of Christians nationwide, Colorado's freshman U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar called Dobson the "anti-Christ" on a Colorado Springs television station. It doesn't get any lower than that. Forget the fact that Salazar - who was elected just last November - said in his campaign that he favored giving qualified judicial nominees up-or-down votes. Since taking office in January, he has submitted to the iron will of Patrick Leahy and Teddy Kennedy to defend the minority party's tactics in abusing the Senate filibuster to deny those nominees such a vote on the Senate floor. If I'm a Colorado voter, I'm wondering what position he'll reverse field on next. But it's not just the freshman from Colorado. In 1995, nine Democrats currently serving in the U.S. Senate suggested ending all filibusters. The "Fili-Busters" have apparently had a road to Damascus conversion since attaining the minority status they worked so hard to achieve. Sens. Lieberman, Kerry, Boxer, Kennedy, Harkin, Lautenberg, Sarbanes and Bingaman supported a proposal that would have cut off the filibuster with a simple majority. In fact, only Democrats supported that proposal 10 years ago. How quickly they forget. I'm guessing Senator Kennedy forgot what he said in 1995 about the very tactic he boldly defends today. To refresh his memory and yours, the paragon of Democrat virtue said, "Senators who feel strongly about the issue of fairness should vote for cloture, even if they intend to vote against the nomination itself. It is wrong to filibuster this nomination ..." If the senator cares to dispute that quote, he might want to revise the June 21, 1995 Congressional Record. But it gets even better. Two years later, Senator Barbara Boxer boldly proclaimed, "According to the U.S. Constitution, the president nominates, and the Senate shall provide advice and consent. It is not the role of the Senate to obstruct the process and prevent numbers of highly qualified nominees from even being given the opportunity for a vote on the Senate floor." She might want to check the May 14, 1997 Congressional Record before she chokes on those words today. Sen. Boxer was correct in 1997. When a Democrat or Republican president nominates a qualified judge, they deserve an up-or-down vote. Where is the consistency? When it comes to what suits them today, whether it be the rights of people of faith, or the role of Senate procedure, today's minority party is as steady as the shifting sands of a Florida beach. Watts writes twice monthly for the Pahrump Valley Times. Watts is chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, a business consulting group. He is former chairman of the Republican Conference of the U.S. House, where he served as an Oklahoma representative from 1995 to 2002. His email address is JCWatts01@JCWatts.com. |
