Preparing for the Hearing

 

I thought it would be helpful to provide everyone viewing the website a memorandum which I am a signature on concerning the upcoming John Roberts hearing.  The one thing you will see from this memorandum is that we should take nothing for granted at this point.  There is no doubt that the confirmation process is moving along very well.  Having said that, we need to prepare for some serious attacks from groups like NARAL, Planned Parenthood and others.  In fact, the information provided here should give you an understanding of what we see developing over the next week.

 

 

M E M O R A N D U M

 

FROM:           Leonard Leo, Ed Meese, Jay Sekulow

 

DATE:            September 1, 2005

 

RE:                The Predictable Course of the Confirmation Hearings of Judge

                     John Roberts

 

 

After a brief feeling-out period, Washingtons confirmation kabuki dance is finally in full swing.  Much ink will be spilled covering the give and take of the confirmation hearings, but the truth is that the Democrats script has already been written--now its just a matter of the actors playing their assigned roles. Heres what will happen:

 

1)         The Judiciary Committee vote will be along party lines. The Democrats on this committee are among the most partisan in the Senate.  Some committee Democrats will make a show of being open-minded.  They will go so far as to risk personal injury during the hearings by continuously patting themselves on the back for being fair, but in the end will find some reason to vote against the nomination: e.g., Judge Roberts didn't answer enough questions, some documents were not available, etc. 

 

2)         However, Judge Roberts will be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  Judge Roberts is one of the best qualified Supreme Court nominees in history.  In August, Judge Roberts received a rating of well-qualified from the American Bar Association. This is the highest possible rating Roberts could have received from the 15-member panel that reviewed his record. This is also the third time that Roberts has received such a rating by the ABA. He is one of the preeminent lawyers of his generation and is well prepared for the demanding environment for which he will be confirmed. 

 

 3)        Democratic Senators will parrot liberal special interest groups in grilling Roberts.  Senators Kennedy and Schumer, in particular, will regurgitate the attacks of the liberal interest groups who have devoted massive resources toward attempting to derail this nomination.  Expect to hear the most liberal Senators giving voice to the exact questions that far left groups are begging them to ask Judge Roberts. 

 

 4)        Liberal opponents will continue to hit below the belt. The inflammatory NARAL ad was but a preview.  At some point during this process, another hit job will surface.  It is also important to note that none of the Democrats serving on the Judiciary Committee criticized the NARAL ad, even though it was blasted as unfair by commentators and editorial pages across the political spectrum.

 

5)         One or more Democrats on the Judiciary Committee will attempt to co-opt the conservative position that judges should fairly apply the law and not be judicial activists.  Of course, they will distort the meaning of judicial activism to protect only their favorite anti-Constitutional precedents.