Posted on 07/05/2005 7:44:32 PM PDT by nj26
The White House and the Senate Republican leadership are pushing back against pressure from some of their conservative allies about the coming Supreme Court nomination, urging them to stop attacking Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales as a potential nominee and to tone down their talk of a culture war.
In a series of conference calls on Tuesday and over the last several days, Republican Senate aides encouraged conservative groups to avoid emphasizing the searing cultural issues that social conservatives see at the heart of the court fight, subjects like abortion, public support for religion and same-sex marriage, participants said.
Instead, these participants, who insisted on anonymity to avoid exclusion from future calls, said the aides - including Barbara Ledeen of the Senate Republican Conference and Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader - emphasized themes that had been tested in polls, including a need for a fair and dignified confirmation process.
Mr. Ueland acknowledged that he and others had been working almost since the vacancy occurred last Friday with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation to persuade conservative activists to steer clear of divisive language.
"Every contact we have with these folks is 'stay on message, stay on purpose,' " Mr. Ueland said. "The extremism of language, if there is to be any, should be demonstrably on the other side. The hysteria and the foaming at the mouth ought to come from the left."
In other calls, emissaries from the office of Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, are urging conservatives to stop discussing individual nominees, especially Mr. Gonzales, whose views on abortion and affirmative action are viewed with wariness by some conservatives. Steve Schmidt, a White House spokesman working on the confirmation, joined some calls, participants said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yeah you conservatives, just because you got G.W reelected don't go spouting your conservative ethics. Start thinking like a moderate because that is where the Party is heading And you can just be satisfied with someone like O'Connor or more moderate because we want to get along with the demorats. (sarcasm)
The Left is aiding and abbetting this, so that whoever eventually becomes the nominee can be portrayed as the candidate of the "extreme right Christians."
It would be helpful if all of the organizations opposed to Gonzalez would just be quiet for a few days. They aren't helping the cause one bit.
Yep pro-lifers are pounding this one hard because its the moment of truth. We've been working for this moment for a long time.
has Gonzales been nominated yet? why dont you wait.
this ranting over ganzales who hasnt been nominated and probably wont show incredible insecurity on the part of conservatives. They are acting like a kicked dog. They have absolutely no confidence or faith in the President to pick a good SCOTUS nominee. Some of you people are absolutely pathetic.
If he picks Gonzales, I'l lbe mad, but I will wait to see who the nominee is.
finally a voice of reason...it seems the stupid party is really the far right
It would be wise to at least wait until we know who the nominee is. And remember, Alberto Gonzales is more conservative than Sandra Day O'Conner.
Uh, no. The only ones that can make a person extreme are the candidates themselves IF they are extreme, or the Democrats stating we're facing armageddon because we could conceivably be closer to following the constitution rather than making laws on the bench.
Now, as to your comment, this doesn't signal anything about the type of nominee the President will choose.
As to the content of the piece, when you attack Gonzales the way Liberals attack constitutional nominees, a person that is a FRIEND of the President, than sorry. I'm not going to feel sorry if some conservatives feel slapped. Some of the comments used against Gonzales have been out of line. If someone attacks my friend in that manner, I'll defend them. It's understandable the President would. There is no reason an argument cannot be made against Gonzales without resorting to smears as Liberals do.
That said, do the GOP I say FORGET IT. IF the GOP Senate had proven it were trustworthy we might shut up and follow your lead. But you have been proven to be ineffective at leadership, you have been proven to accept defeat when you had victory in grasp, so you have NO right to ask people that know how to win to cease speaking and take on Faith for once in your damn lives you'll get it right. In short, to the GOP Senate I state, we don't trust you.
Wouldn't it be more helpful for Bush to just hurry up and nominate a conservative and end the speculation? It's not like he hasn't had the last 6 years to think about it.
Bush could end this whole circus now with a simple statement that he is happy with Gonzalez as AG, and has no intention of moving him from there.
"it seems the stupid party is really the far right"
And here I thought that being pro-life and opposing Roe put you in the mainstream of the Republican party.
but why does he need to end it. Why should he pander?
And bring your own KY, cause it's gonna be a big one........
Remember, if republican senators (lower case intentional) have no loyalty towards each other, how much do you think the republican party establishment has for its base??? Past experience is a reliable indicator.
"Bush could end this whole circus now with a simple statement that he is happy with Gonzalez as AG, and has no intention of moving him from there."
Exactly, which suggest to me that Gonzales is indeed under consideration.
Man, we didn't even get a kiss first, did we?
yup , they've got The Beltway Disease , got it bad , they're delirious , "hey Karl , watch what happens in the midterm elections!"
youre missing the strategery.
IF he names one now, the liberals will have 2 months to dig up dirt and turn the public against the nominee
Delivering on a promise is not pandering.
but why does he need to end it. Why should he pander?
You want him to nominate someone while he is in Edinburgh and the nominee is in the States? Bad form and shows panic, to boot.
I do not understand why people work themselves into a frenzy over things like this. Time enough to rant if the President does something stupid. I don't expect it. I think the nominee will be acceptable, and Gonzalez was never going to be a candidate.
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