• Twenty Democratic senators, including Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, have been warned against using the filibuster through e-mails from members of Focus on the Family. The right-wing group has taken out national ads on the issue and advised its members to send a handful of moderate conservative senators, like Senator John McCain, the following warning: "You have been made the majority in the House, in the Senate, and a Republican occupies the White House. Together they represent the coveted 'Triple Crown' of American Politics. If you fritter away the responsibility to reform the courts, and if you ignore the 'values' that motivated those who supported you at the polls, you do not deserve the trust given to you. It's time to fish or cut bait."
• Existing courts are under attack. As reported on April 22, the Los Angeles Times obtained an audio recording in which James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council outline their strategy to circumscribe and bankrupt the U.S. courts. "There's more than one way to skin a cat, and there's more than one way to take a black robe off the bench," Perkins said on a March 17 tape. One month later, house majority leader Tom DeLay issued a similar threat: "We set up the courts. We can unset the courts. We have the power of the purse," DeLay said.
-AG
This article appears in May 4-10, 2005.