The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-7 on May 23 to approve the nomination of Judge D. Brooks Smith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. PFAW President Ralph G. Neas called the vote "extremely disappointing" given Smith's record and the fact that Smith violated the judicial Code of Conduct by continuing to belong to a club that discriminates against women long after promising the Committee he would resign. Said Neas, “The fight against this nomination is not over.”
Read PFAW's report on Judge D. Brooks Smith
Read reaction from National Organization for Women
Review our materials on Judge Charles Pickering
Ideology and the Federal Judiciary by Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way
This article was prepared for Insight Magazine, January 2002.
Why The Senate Should Reject Attempts To Pack the Federal Judiciary with Right-Wing Judges
These talking points offer statistics and other insights on the far right's efforts to tilt our federal courts to support their agenda and urges the President to reject these efforts.
President Bush, the Senate and the Federal Judiciary: Unprecedented Situation Calls for Unprecedented Solution (10/17/01)
This PFAWF report debunks accusations that Bush administration’s nominees are being treated unfairly by the Senate, and documents the unprecedented blockade waged by some Senate Republicans, many of whom now clamor for immediate votes on Bush administration judicial nominees, against highly qualified Clinton administration nominees.
The Federalist Society: From Obscurity to Power
Most Americans know very little about--or have even heard of--the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Yet the Society has assumed a leading role in shaping the Bush administration's legal policies and judicial nominees. This report released August 1 by People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) provides much-needed information and insight on the organization.
Ordering the Courts: Right-Wing Attacks on Judicial Independence in 2000
Read about the right's tactics of pressuring sitting judges and using judicial elections and selection processes in hopes of advancing its agenda.
Courting Disaster - 2002:
Read about what's at stake at the Supreme Court, should it tip further to the right. An excellent analysis by People For the American Way Foundation, of the issues and the ideology that could sweep through the High Court.
Read the 2001 Update
Read the original 2000 Courting Disaster Report
These ads ran in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Missouri and Michigan. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, American Family Voices spent $628,219 in August on advertisements criticizing George W. Bush.[1] A study by David Magleby of Brigham Young University found that 89 percent of respondents who saw the American Family Voices ad thought it was primarily aimed at persuading them to vote either for or against a candidate, while only 6 percent thought it was meant to promote an issue. [2] Only three of more than 700 respondents identified the sponsor of the advertisement. No one was able to identify the ultimate source of the funds for the ad.
The respondents could not identify the source, because the ads did not say that American Family Services’ main supporter was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Nor is that information available on AFV's website. AFSCME is one of America's largest and most politically active labor unions, with 1.3 million members. AFSCME's political action committee gave about $2.4 million to federal candidates in this election; roughly 95 percent to Democrats. AFSCME gave $4.4 million in soft money in the 1999-2000 cycle. [3] Not only was this more than any other entity gave in that campaign, but it set a new record for soft-money contributions.[4] AFSCME sent 270 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.[5] AFSCME president Gerald McEntee chairs the AFL-CIO political committee.
Let's play connect the dots with this.....
"I want to say a special thanks to Jerry McEntee," Clinton told the crowd. "He supported me when nobody else but my mother thought I had a chance. He's got a big heart, and if you were in a foxhole, you'd want him in there with you fighting for the future of your family. And I'm glad he's in there with me."