Free Republic

Alec "the Bloviator" Baldwin has a new bosom buddy: Beltway Republican strategist Grover Norquist. The Bush-bashing actor-turned-activist and the Muslim vote-courting political organizer joined together at a Washington, D.C.-area conference last weekend to perpetuate bald lies about the Patriot Act and to oppose the "repressive" War on Terror (repressing terrorist suspects apparently being a bad thing). Baldwin and Norquist's panel, titled "Strange Bedfellows," was sponsored by the ultraliberal group People For the American Way. When PFAW head and panel participant Ralph Neas ranted about the lack of judicial and congressional oversight of the Justice Department's terror investigations, the audience...

It looks like the third time was the charm for the Federalist Society. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has long been an active participant in the conservative legal society, an influential group that sometimes goes to great lengths to play down its influence. Alito has been a member for at least 15 years and has spoken before both the national organization and its student chapters on a number of occasions. That's a welcome change for the group after the last two Supreme Court nominations: -John Roberts, the new chief justice, is well-liked by Federalist Society members but belatedly denied he'd...

Harriet Miers’ withdrawal from her Supreme Court nomination demonstrates that ultraconservatives are so determined to swing the Supreme Court sharply to the right that they pounded their own president’s nominee into submission, and now demand a nominee with unquestioned far-right credentials, said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way. “It’s an astonishing spectacle. The unelected power-brokers of the far right have forced the withdrawal of President Bush’s own Supreme Court nominee, before a confirmation hearing has even been held. President Bush’s complete capitulation to the far-right interest groups is astounding. The ultra-right wing dominance of Republican Party...

Reid Pushed By Liberal Groups In Opposing Judge Roberts: "The Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid Of Nevada, Said ... That He Would Oppose The Confirmation Of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. As Chief Justice, Surprising Both The White House And Fellow Democrats Still Conflicted About How To Vote." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David D. Kirkpatrick, "Top Democrat Says He'll Vote No On Roberts," The New York Times, 9/21/05) "'He Got The Message Loud And Clear, Didn't He?' Kim Gandy, President Of The National Organization For Women, Said Of Mr. Reid On Tuesday." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David D. Kirkpatrick, "Top...

...Elevating Judge Roberts to Chief was a logical decision, both politically and on the merits. The Senate and media have been investigating the nominee since July, and have found superlatives with nary a negative. The Judge is in a position to be rapidly confirmed.... More importantly, what we have learned about Judge Roberts suggests that he shares Chief Justice Rehnquist's judicial philosophy. If Mr. Bush now follows with the nomination of an equally distinguished conservative for the Court's second opening, the Roberts Court will be able to continue the legal restoration that the late Chief Rehnquist began.... That historic mission...

“The fact that far left groups like NARAL and People for the American Way (PFAW) would smear Judge Roberts with outlandish inaccuracies to advance their political agenda, is hardly newsworthy. Ralph Neas and Company have been railing against the President's nominee before one was even nominated. The only group that should be truly concerned with PFAW’s report is the Sierra Club, given how much paper was wasted to print this dishonest and disingenuous report.” Tracey Schmitt, Press Secretary PFAW Attacked Roberts Selection Five Minutes Before President George W. Bush’s Official Announcement:People For The American Way Issued A Press Release Denouncing...

It's too bad there's now a firewall in place on the computer system used by the Senate Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff. We'd love to take a peek at the internal memos reacting to Tuesday's Washington Post story headlined "Roberts Unlikely to Face Big Fight; Many Democrats See Battle as Futile." If the staff memos that were leaked on President Bush's appeals-court nominees in 2003 are any guide, Democrats once again are taking dictation from liberal interest groups-- this time on how to oppose Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. We expect Tuesday's e-chatter went along the lines of: "Ralph Neas called..."...

...President Bush has repeatedly drawn from the Federalist Society for cabinet members, senior aides and judges. And perhaps to deflect what many conservatives call unfair attacks by liberals, the nominees have repeatedly claimed to know little about the group's beliefs.... Then an old directory surfaced last week, listing Judge Roberts as part of one of the group's steering committees. The White House spokesmen clung to their line; since Judge Roberts had not, apparently, written a $25 membership check, he was not a formal member. Who cares? Lots of people, it seems, because a fight over the influence of the Federalist...

Left Declares "State of Emergency" For Immediate Release / Contact: Jessica Boulanger 202-777-1569 The United States of America: Saturday, 84 degrees, overcast. Homeland Security threat advisory: Yellow. Families preparing for 4th of July celebrations: flying flags, cooking hotdogs, baking pies. And yet, Liberal special interest groups declare: "STATE OF EMERGENCY!" As Progress for America predicted in Tar & Feather, Inc.: A Liberal 10-Step Plan for Judicial Character Assassination, this Independence Day weekend, the Left is whipping their members into a frenzy in preparation for the first Supreme Court vacancy in 11 years. For the Left, there will be no picnics...

MEET THE PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAYOut Of The Mainstream Organization Providing Democrats With Resources To Block President Bush's Judicial Nominee     "'People for the American Way' is yet another example of an extreme special interest group that Democrats allow to control their agenda in Congress. It is troubling that Senate Democrats would align themselves with a radical political agenda far out of the mainstream on such important issues to our country. Blocking well-qualified nominees for political gain may sound like a good idea for liberal extremists, but it is certainly not in the best interest of the American...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Two senators who actively filibustered ten of President Bush's pro-life judicial nominees during his first term have become the new leaders of the Senate Democrats. One has a mixed voting record on abortion while the other is pro-abortion -- but both have voted for measures that would have gutted pro-life legislation. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats chose Nevada Senator Harry Reid to replace pro-abortion Sen. Tom Daschle as their new Minority Leader. They also selected pro-abortion Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to move into Reid's vacated number two slot.Reid has a mixed voting record on abortion issues, compiling...

Ralph Neas is at it again. Armed with an overflowing treasure chest of donations from the Hollywood Left, union bosses, and trial lawyers, People for the American Way president Ralph Neas is orchestrating the activities of more than 10,000 Democratic attorneys in battleground states. Using the coalition of leftist organizations brought together through years of trench warfare over judicial nominations and a database of attorneys, Neas is working to successfully accuse Republicans of suppressing voters. The lawsuits in Florida have already begun. With 2,000 lawyers dispatched to that state alone, this was certainly bound to happen. Nine lawsuits have been...

<p>House Republicans took aim yesterday at the fundraising vehicle that Democrats hope will help them equalize the money battle in the upcoming campaign -- organizations dubbed in political circles as "527s" or "501s," for sections of the tax code.</p> <p>Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee, was granted the power to subpoena leaders of six organizations seeking to mobilize voters in support of Democratic candidates after they refused to appear before the committee. Ney said they had "thumbed their noses" at the panel but declined to say whether he would exercise his subpoena power.</p>

A new report by the People for the American Way Foundation contains some disturbing details about the movement for private school vouchers. While there are undoubtedly many parents in troubled school districts who sincerely believe that tax-supported vouchers will help their children get a better education, the report suggests that they are being used as patsies for a much bigger goal - the privatization of all public education. The report, called The Voucher Veneer: The Deeper Agenda to Privatize Public Education (it's online at www.pfaw.org/go/voucher_venee), uncovers a network of Religious Right groups, free-market economists, ultraconservative columnists and others "who are...