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Campaign against Judge Southwick repeats same old charges WASHINGTON, June 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Committee for Justice (CFJ) commented today on Senate Democrats' recent history of obstructing all white male appeals court nominees from the South, including Leslie Southwick of Mississippi, a Fifth Circuit nominee scheduled for a Judiciary Committee vote this Thursday. "Senate Democrats and their allies on the left have attacked Judge Southwick for being insensitive to 'the rights of African Americans, gays and lesbians,'" explained CFJ executive director Curt Levey. "If this sounds familiar, it's because they level the same charges whenever the President nominates a...

The leader of an Arkansas group that supports the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court said Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s decision to not support the confirmation of President Bush’s nominee is a great disappointment and surprising. Jerry Cox, director of the Family Council Action Committee, said her recent history indicated there was a good chance she would resist Democratic party pressure and support Alito. “When many democrats didn’t support the appointment of (Arkansas) Judge Leon Holmes as a U.S. District Judge (for the eastern district of Arkansas) last year, Senator Lincoln fought hard for his confirmation,” Cox said....

As the debate heated up in April over ending Democrats' use of the filibuster to block votes on judicial nominees, the secular left worked itself into a frenzy when religious leaders organized a multichurch telecast to focus attention on the fact that the president's blocked appellate court nominees all happened to be "people of faith."

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE Last week we let you know about Leon Holmes's nomination to federal district court. TXCC supported his confirmation by the Senate, and thankfully he was confirmed 51-46. As we reported last week, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison voted "No" on confirming Dr. Holmes. Since then, Senator Hutchison has written to Texas Christian Coalition to share her thoughts on her vote, and she has asked us to share them with you. You can read the text of her letter below, or click here for a PDF file. http://www.texascc.org/PDF/Dr.%20Holmes.pdf We are grateful to Senator Hutchison...

It was a close call when the U.S. Senate was finally, finally allowed to vote on Leon Holmes' nomination as a federal district judge here in Arkansas. It's been almost 18 months — a year and a half — since the president made this nomination. If only Leon Holmes had been one of your mediocre nominees, he would have been a shoo-in. If only he'd been less of a scholar, advocate and just plain concerned citizen, there would have been no problem. Alas, he was an outstanding pick. And something there is in American politics that abhors quality, and sends...

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Senate, allowed to make an up-or-down vote on one of President Bush's judicial nominees, confirmed the nomination of J. Leon Holmes as a U.S. District judge on Tuesday. The vote was 51-46. Conservative groups were delighted, but liberal groups -- determined to block any and all conservative, pro-life candidates -- were outraged. Holmes's confirmation came after 18 months of filibustering by senators who support a woman's right to abortion. The Family Research Council, delighted with Holmes's confirmation, applauded the 51 Senators who stood up for Holmes and said the vote shows that the U.S. Senate does...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Senate narrowly OKs Arkansas judge nomineeBy Charles HurtTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished July 7, 2004 The Senate narrowly approved President Bush's nominee to a federal district court in Arkansas last night after six hours of sometimes-bitter debate.     With 11 senators switching sides, the Senate approved lawyer J. Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by a 51-46 vote. He was nominated for the position 17 months ago.     It was a solid victory for Mr. Bush and Senate Republican leaders, who succeeded in defining the debate about whether a practicing Catholic who opposes abortion...

Leftists Target Judicial Nominee with Anti-Catholic Bigotry ACU calls on Senators to reject liberal demands to impose an unconstitutional religious test for public office Alexandria, VA – The American Conservative Union today called upon the U.S. Senate to reject the anti-Catholic bigotry directed at James Leon Holmes, nominee to the federal district court from Arkansas. President Bush nominated Mr. Holmes to the federal bench 17 months ago. His nomination is scheduled for a vote Tuesday, July 6. "The usual gang of leftist special-interest groups, feminists, abortion advocates and radical secularists have attacked Mr. Holmes because of his Catholic faith," said...

GOP Senators Targeted in Fight Over Judicial Nominee Robert B. Bluey Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) - With a vote scheduled for Tuesday on embattled judicial nominee James Leon Holmes, conservatives are turning up the pressure on a handful of Republican senators who they fear might vote against the Arkansas attorney. Holmes has waited more than 17 months since he was first nominated by President Bush to fill a federal district court seat in Arkansas. Even though he has the support of Arkansas' two senators, both Democrats, conservatives are concerned about some wavering Republicans. During a conference call Thursday to strategize on...

51-46

Note from People for the American Way....a LEFTWING GROUP....... ******************************************************* Senate Will Vote Today on J. Leon Holmes - Call Your Senators Toll Free: 1-888-508-2974 As we wrote last week, your U.S. senators will vote today, July 6, on the nomination of J. Leon Holmes, a zealous opponent of reproductive freedom and women's equality whose inflammatory remarks on these subjects make him even less fit for confirmation to our federal courts. We told you that there was a real opportunity to make Holmes the first Bush judicial nominee defeated by a bipartisan majority, and you seized it. Nearly 18,000 letters...

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) announces she is voting against the nomination of J. Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas: In her remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate, which are continuing as I type this, she also condemned Second Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi for his recent remarks about President Bush. It will be her first vote against any of President Bush's judicial nominees. posted at 16:09 by Howard Bashman

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Senate showdown set for judge pickBy Charles HurtTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished July 6, 2004 The biggest Senate showdown in more than a year over a judicial nominee is scheduled for today in a debate billed as a trial run for the fight over the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.     It could also be the first -- and high-profile -- outright defeat of one of President Bush's judicial nominees on the Senate floor.     All the more remarkable is that the nominee, Arkansas lawyer J. Leon Holmes, is named to federal district court, which sees virtually no contentious nomination battles. Each...

With a vote scheduled for Tuesday on embattled judicial nominee James Leon Holmes, conservatives are turning up the pressure on a handful of Republican senators who they fear might vote against the Arkansas attorney. Holmes has waited more than 17 months since he was first nominated by President Bush to fill a federal district court seat in Arkansas. Even though he has the support of Arkansas' two senators, both Democrats, conservatives are concerned about some wavering Republicans. During a conference call Thursday to strategize on Holmes' confirmation vote, conservatives identified two Republican senators -- Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and...

PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY June 30, 2004 Urge Your Senators to Vote Against Anti-Choice Judicial Nominee Leon Holmes On July 6, your U.S. senators will vote on the federal district court nomination of J. Leon Holmes, who has been a zealous opponent of reproductive freedom and women's equality. Holmes' views are so extreme, in fact, that we have a real opportunity to defeat his confirmation on an up-or-down vote.* Today, we're asking you to take the first action in a two-step activist effort on Holmes: e-mail letters to your senators and urge them both to vote against the confirmation...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senate Republicans are doing everything possible to stop a filibuster by pro-abortion lawmakers and give President Bush's pro-life appeals court nominees an up or down vote. That's what makes it strange that some Republican senators are holding up the nomination of the president of a pro-life organization from being confirmed. President Bush nominated Leon Holm's, an attorney and former president of Arkansas Right to Life, for a seat on the U.S. District Court in Arkansas. In April, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on a 10-9 party line vote, passed on the nomination to the Senate floor for...

The Senate is blocking another of President Bush’s judicial nominees — but this time it’s Republicans and not Democrats playing the role of obstructionists. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) last week sought unanimous consent to take up the nomination of Leon Holmes to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Arkansas. Pryor made the request after the Judiciary Committee reported Holmes’s nomination without recommendation on a party-line vote, meaning the panel took no position on whether he should be confirmed by the full Senate. But at least four centrist Republicans expressed doubts about Holmes, based on statements culled from some...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate was in its August recess last week, but the Knights of Columbus were meeting in Washington. The world's largest Catholic fraternal organization Thursday passed a resolution condemning opposition to federal judicial nominees because of "deeply held beliefs" stemming from their Catholic faith. That follows intense debate on the Senate floor just before the Senate recessed.On the evening of July 30, the usually circumspect senators engaged in a rare confrontation over religion. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, third-ranking in the Republican leadership and a daily Catholic communicant, accused colleagues of establishing a prohibition for the federal judiciary...

"Indeed, it's hard to see how anyone who's ever had any dealings with Mr. Holmes, as we have, would have anything but respect for the man." Familiarity breeds respect from Arkansas Online THE DOG DAYS, they're called, this time of year when the days grow hotter and tempers shorter. It's a good time to sit back, have some iced tea, and think on why some political disputes don't ignite here in Arkansas. Sometimes both parties can even get behind the same nominee for the judiciary. It can happen when the nominee is an Arkansan like James Leon Holmes. He's a...

The Real Anti-Catholic Bias CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter August 6, 2003 ********************************************** Dear Friend, What's the fastest way to make a Democrat angry? Call him anti-Catholic. That's exactly what happened last week when the Committee for Justice ran a controversial ad that pictured a closed courtroom door with a sign on it that read, "Catholics need not apply." Referring to the recent trend in the Senate to stall voting on Catholic nominees to federal court positions, the ad implied that Democrats were beginning to apply a religion test to those nominees, effectively barring Catholics from federal benches. The issue came...