Partisan Battle Over Courts Reaches New Heights

April 25, 2005

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-telecast25apr25,0,4713174.story?coll=la-home-nation

On April 25, 2005 the Los Angeles Times reported, "partisan battles over the courts moved Sunday from the halls of Congress to the pews and pulpits of the nation's churches � with evangelical leaders portraying opponents of conservative judges as enemies of faith and liberals decrying a 'religious war' being waged against them.

In highly anticipated remarks aired as part of a 90-minute simulcast to conservative churches � which sponsors said would reach more than 60 million people � Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist shied away from the fiery oratory offered by evangelical leaders.

But the Tennessee Republican threatened again to change Senate rules to curb the Democrats' ability to block votes on 10 of President Bush's court nominees. The move is so controversial that some refer to it as the 'nuclear option.'

And activists on both sides declared Sunday's event, 'Justice Sunday: Stop the Filibuster Against People of Faith,' a watershed moment in an increasingly emotional conflict that is as much about the mixing of God and government as it is about who can serve on the federal bench."