Frist Lends His Support To Those That Target His Own Caucus

by Steve

Well, Frist went ahead in his taped remarks to the Justice Sunday conference today and called for an end to all filibusters for judicial nominees. And by associating himself with the nutcases he shared the stage with today, he has thrown his lot in with Christo-fascists who attacked GOP senators in Frist’s own caucus. And that may end up being the poison that Frist has let out of the bottle today.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist delivered a taped speech Sunday to a nationwide broadcast in which Christian conservatives, during other segments, attacked Democratic senators for blocking judicial nominees described in the program as "people of faith."

Frist (R-Tenn.) avoided religious references in his six-minute video for "Justice Sunday," which sponsors said reached 61 million households. The hour-long telecast drew criticism from Democrats and some religious groups who said its theme inappropriately injected religion into a heated debate over the filibustering of some of President Bush's most conservative court nominees.

James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, spoke from the church's pulpit and criticized the Supreme Court, seven of whose nine members were named by Republican presidents. The court's majority, Dobson said, "are unelected and unaccountable and arrogant and imperious and determined to redesign the culture according to their own biases and values, and they're out of control."

The court's majority does not care "about the sanctity of life," he said. Pornography is a growing problem, he said, "plus this matter of judicial tyranny to people of faith, and that has to stop."

Dobson said the Senate has "six or eight very squishy Republicans" who have not committed to helping change the filibuster rule.

Throughout the program, the names and phone numbers of senators scrolled across the screen, and speakers urged listeners to call and demand that the filibusters be stopped. Among the senators whose photos were shown were Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

That should make for a fun caucus meeting tomorrow.

And yet while Frist may have enabled people like Dobson, who is targeting Frist's own caucus, there goes Joe Biden today offering a compromise.

Meanwhile Sunday, there were hints of a possible compromise. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, told ABC News's "This Week": "I think we should compromise and say to them that we're willing to -- of the seven judges -- we'll let a number of them go through, the two most extreme not go through, and put off this [rule-change] vote."

Thanks Joe.