Ad campaign decries activist judges, urges senators to vote on qualified

Washington D.C., Apr 13, 2005 / 22:00 pm

A leading grassroots organization has launched the first phase of a national television advertising campaign that points to the fallout of judicial activism and asks citizens to press their Senators for a vote on the president’s judicial nominees.

The ad campaign was organized by the Judicial Confirmation Network, which supports the confirmation of qualified judges to the federal courts.

The ad began airing nationally on cable television and in targeted states yesterday. It says arrogant, activist judges are undermining American values and ignoring the Constitution by ruling that the word “God” must be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance and that child pornography is protected as free speech.

The ad also states that President George W. Bush has called on judges to decide cases according to the law, not politics. The ad ends with a message urging citizens to contact their Senators and to tell them to support a fair vote on judges.

The advertising has cost JCN $250,000, and executive director Gary Marx said the group is ready to spend more if necessary. A second ad is currently in production.

The group is working with more than 70 grassroots and civic organizations around the nation to help engage and educate the public about the importance of the debate.

Wendy E. Long, JCN counsel, expects the campaign to “resonate with the great majority of Americans, given that 75 percent of registered voters nationwide support the president’s nomination of judges who apply existing law faithfully, and that 82 percent believe qualified judicial nominees should be given an up-or-down vote.”

JCN will distribute the ad via e-mail alerts through dozens of organizations, including Focus on the Family, Americans for Tax Reform, the Committee for Justice, Americans for Limited Government and the American Center for Law and Justice.

It is also in the midst of a national petition drive supporting a fair nomination process and ending the effort to block the president’s qualified nominees to the federal bench. The ad and the petition are available at: www.judicialnetwork.org