Breaking the Filibuster: Marathon, Not Sprint

I want you to know that this effort in Washington to bring an end to the unconstitutional use of the fiibuster to prevent judicial nominees from getting an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor is a marathon - not a sprint.  I have been meeting with members of the Senate and their staff this week.  I met late yesterday with Senators Coburn and Brownback as they were coming off the floor of the Senate.  I conveyed to them that there is growing support for a rules change and that more than 30,000 ACLJ members and supporters have now signed on to our Petition to End Judicial Filibusters.  I also had the opportunity this week to talk and meet with reporters concerning this critical issue - the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker Magazine - and many others.  The media interest on this very important topic continues to intensify.

I am convinced this effort is very important and critical to ensuring that conservative, pro-life nominees get fair treatment in the confirmation process.  It now appears that it could be mid-May before this issue comes to a head in the Senate.  With the Judiciary Committee approval of Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen, the stage is set for the showdown.  But it now appears the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will wait until after the upcoming recess to bring these nominees to the floor of the Senate.

I want to encourage you to watch a special television program tonight - a 2-hour special - that will air on TBN at 10:00pm ET.   We have a great show that includes interviews with our senior attorneys who are in court on these very issues - like the Ten Commandments - issues where the judiciary plays such an important role.  And, I will have a special interview with John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General and Distinguished Professor of Law at Regent University.  We have information posted online at our website concerning the broadcast and how you can view it.

Also, tonight, on C-SPAN, an important program involving a debate with Nadine Strossen of the ACLU.  I think you will find it informative and interesting.  That airs tonight at 7:00pm ET on C-SPAN.