FOX NEWS - Hannity & Colmes - ACLJ's Jay Sekulow Debates NOW's Kim Gandy Concerning Testimony of John Roberts

FOX NEWS - Hannity & Colmes
September 13, 2005

John Roberts' Testimony Before Senate Judiciary Committee

SEAN HANNITY: And welcome back to HANNITY & COLMES, I'm Sean Hannity. Judge Roberts was asked the big question today about Roe v. Wade. So, how did he do? Joining us now from the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow, and the president of the National Organization for Women, Kim Gandy.

Kim, I just want a yes or no to my first question, that's all I want, yes or no. Would you ever support any nominee who thought -- that had a different position than you that Roe v. Wade was bad law, would you ever support such a person?

KIM GANDY, PRESIDENT NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN: I would not.

HANNITY: OK, simple answer. Now, Jay.

JAY SEKULOW AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: Yeah.

HANNITY: He answered this question, I think, most appropriately today.

GANDY: Aren't you going to ask him the same question?

HANNITY: No.

GANDY: (LAUGHING)

HANNITY: I ask the questions.

SEKULOW: I'm not the president of the National Organization for Women.

HANNITY: Jay, I thought his answer was perfect. Why don't you explain it and explain what your thoughts about it.

SEKULOW: Well, there was a series of questions involving the right to abortion as recognized in Roe versus Wade. It came up a number of times. And I thought John Roberts' answer was perfect. He said, "First you start with the principle of stare decisis," which means the law is settled, but it doesn't end there. And I'm sure this doesn't make Kim happy, but what he said, and appropriately so, that you look at not only intervening circumstances, but situation where is precedence may have moved in a different direction and also whether a situation is workable or not. And you have to do that or else you still have separate but equal which was applied to black citizens of the United States until it was overruled in Brown versus Board of Education.

HANNITY: See the.

SEKULOW: So what he was he laid out a framework upon which you review cases, whether it's Roe v. Wade any others as a starting point, I think that was appropriate.

HANNITY: But they can reverse these decisions.

SEKULOW: They do.

HANNITY: And they have reversed precedent before. And what I liked about his answer was, and I know Kim Gandy's probably furious about this, he left open the door that, yes, it could be reversed.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: And that's probably why I don't think he's going to get a single democrat, Jay.

SEKULOW: No, he's not.

HANNITY: You don't think he will either?

SEKULOW: Well, you would think that somebody -- I was hopeful in the beginning of this, and I'll tell you, there was a little bit of surprise with Senator Durbin's questions at the end. I thought they actually had some report there. So you don't know. But I will say this, not only did he answer the question on Roe correctly, which he absolutely did, but he laid out what the Supreme Court has already said on how you review precedence. The Supreme Court makes a decision, it's not always correct, they know that.

COLMES: Hey, let me get.

SEKULOW: This is the way in which they correct it.

COLMES: Kim in there.

SEKULOW: But you're right, it's going to be tough getting democratic support.

COLMES: Kim.

But I'll tell he goes to the floor's senate, he will get.

COLMES: Hey, let me get the other guest in, we only have time here.

Kim look, the -- he didn't answer a lot of questions today and they keep bringing up Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was very specific about abortion, specific about Marbury versus Madison, and as Joe Biden pointed out today, answered on 27 different cases. We saw none of that today from Judge Roberts.

GANDY: He was very quiet today. He evaded. He was very slick. He's a very slick lawyer, no question about that. And he did in fact do what one senator referred to as "filibustering." He knew that the senator had only half an hour, and so some of his answers he dragged out to an extreme, far beyond answering the question, which of course, limited the number of questions that the senator could ask.

COLMES: Right. And don't the American people have a right to know.

GANDY: And the senator's time ran out. I think people have a right to know what he would do on Roe v. Wade. I feel confident from what he said that he, in fact, was laying out the way he intended to reverse Roe v. Wade. Every time he was asked about Roe, he said, "Well, to look at Roe, you first have to start with the other Casey.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Ruth Bader Ginsburg...

GANDY: And Casey was.

HANNITY: You're going to have to get your nominee elected and that didn't happen.

GANDY: Well, you know.

SEKULOW: That's the difference.

(CROSSTALK)

GANDY: Actually, I think mine was elected.

SEKULOW: To nominate and appoint. And by the way, John Roberts isn't a slick advocate, he's a well-trained advocate, perhaps the best advocate of the...

(CROSSTALK)

SEKULOW: ....generation.