It's been some time since we've gathered together here, and I must apologize. Since I've become part of the "Ownership Society" and bought my first home, it's taken just about all of my free time. Painting...spackling...unpacking. I've discovered that when you own a house, your "to do" list is never completed. Let me emphasize the word "never."
In the month hiatus I've had from Ye Olde ConBlog, I've paid attention to the news and the talking heads and watched the Media Spin Machine do their job. It comes down to the fact that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
When I was in my early twenties, a good friend once told me that if you watch the Left they have one play in their playbook. It's not a draw. It's not a halfback option. It's not even a "Hail Mary." It's a smear and it's always run to the left.
The Democrats have seen significant losses in at least the last three elections: two Presidential, and one mid-term. They have seen their share of the seats in Congress slowly erode over to the other side and they have been unable to stop the shift in power. The Republicans hold a clear majority and, try as they might, they cannot convince the voting public that their ideas are worth putting them in office. They cannot advance their ideals in the realm of ideas and legislation, so they will attempt to gain a majority in the judiciary and they'll do whatever they can to keep that from slipping out of their grasp.
Let's examine the case of Judge John Roberts, shall we? Nominated by President Bush as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court, few have been able to dismiss Roberts based on his seemingly adequate qualifications. Barring an "October Surprise," Roberts will be confirmed as the next justice to the court. The Left can't stop it. If they try to filibuster, they'll fail. They can attempt to block the vote, but then the Senate will enact the "Constitutional option." The Left is left with one option: their standard smear campaign.
Enter NARAL.
NARAL, for those of you in the balcony, is the National Abortion Rights Action League. They're a left-wing group that might as well be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat National Committee. Their mission, according to them, is to advocate "choice" when it comes to abortion, but it seems to me that actual "choice" is the only thing that's not in their message. NARAL has come out with an advertisement stating that Judge Roberts has a "record of siding with violent anti-choice fringe groups."
The only problem is their claim is a load of horse manure.
Oh, that's not my determination. That conclusion was arrived at by FactCheck.org. You may recall that site from the Vice Presidential debate. It's run by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. They have researched the NARAL commercial and said, in no uncertain terms, that the advertisement is false. Annenberg isn't a partisan group, they're an independent organization that takes Republicans and Democrats to task equally.
This tactic is the Left's attempt to have a Swift Boat Veterans-style effect on Judge Roberts' nomination and it's going to fail miserably.
It almost seems like the Left needs it written out for them. If you're going to try to attack you'd better have some iron-clad evidence in your back pocket. (Note to the Left: trying to spin what Roberts believes based on some briefs he filed is far from being iron-clad.)
Every time there's a vacancy on the court, the Left tries to turn this into a discussion on a Judge's ideology. They fail every single time. It's not the job of a Supreme Court Justice to have an opinion. It's their job to decide whether or not laws are constitutional. That's it. Their job description isn't that long, nor is it hard to understand.
The upcoming confirmation hearings will be covered wall-to-wall and every day the MSM will focus on which questions Roberts didn't answer. It will be questions about his personal views and how he might rule on particular issues and he won't answer them. He shouldn't answer them. No one made Ruth Bader Ginsburg answer any questions. Besides, what the hell gives Teddy Kennedy the right to determine the fitness of any person who comes before the Judiciary Committee?
Yet, I digress...
The Left can try to mangle the character and career of John Roberts all they want but it's nothing more than an attempt to derail his nomination because they sure as hell can't stop it. They've got one tactic and it still doesn't work for them after all these years.
Let's hope they don't change the playbook anytime soon. ;)
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com
