WASHINGTON – Jubilant about President Bush’s nomination of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge John Roberts Jr. for a seat on the Supreme Court, conservative advocacy groups began a media campaign Wednesday to fix him in the public mind as a brainy, trustworthy jurist who is guided not by political ideology but by the rule of law.
Their goal, according to organizers, is to pre-empt the expected attacks from the left and win the early public-relations war over the nominee. But so far, it has virtually been a one-sided battle.
A coalition of women’s and abortion rights groups that worry that Roberts would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the high-court decision guaranteeing women’s right to abortion, has announced its opposition to Roberts. But few other liberal advocacy organizations have joined it.
As those groups pore over his record and raise pointed questions about the positions Roberts argued as a legal advocate for the Reagan and Bush administrations in the 1980s and early 1990s, strategists say the nominee’s two-year record as an appeals court judge presents few clear reasons to immediately oppose him.
“His record on the court of appeals is so slim,” said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, the group that helped torpedo Robert Bork’s 1987 Supreme Court nomination. “That doesn’t rule out our opposing him at some later point, but it’s important to review his entire record before making that judgment.”
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way, declared that Roberts’ combination of geniality and conservatism makes him “an Antonin Scalia in sheep’s clothing.” But he said his group will wait to learn more before deciding whether to formally oppose Roberts.
“We really want to know more about his judicial philosophy,” Neas said.
In the absence of a coordinated liberal attack, conservative groups have had a relatively clear field for ramping up their support for Roberts. Their early efforts are being run with the aura of a presidential campaign, including a $1 million television buy, the creation of numerous pro-Roberts Web sites, and the grass-roots mobilization of business and religious activists in key states.
Progress for America, a tax-exempt organization with strong ties to the Bush administration, said it will immediately begin a weeklong, $1 million television ad campaign. The spots will air on major cable networks, including Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC.
Associated Press
President Bush talks with John Roberts Jr. after breakfast Wednesday at the White House.
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