That didn't take long...

Quote :

"Abortion Rights Group Withdraws Ad By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer Thursday, August 11, 2005 (08-11) 18:07 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a week of protests by conservatives, an abortion rights group said Thursday night it is withdrawing a television advertisement linking Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to violent anti-abortion activists. "We regret that many people have misconstrued our recent advertisement about Mr. Roberts' record," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Unfortunately, the debate over that advertisement has become a distraction from the serious discussion we hoped to have with the American public," she said in a letter Thursday to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who had urged the group to withdraw the ad. Specter, himself an abortion-rights supporter as well as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will question Roberts next month, earlier Thursday had called the ad "blatantly untrue and unfair." The NARAL ad criticizes Roberts and links him with violent anti-abortion protesters because of the anti-abortion briefs he worked on as a government lawyer. "The NARAL advertisement is not helpful to the pro-choice cause which I support," Specter said in a letter to Keenan. Keenan's response said the group will replace the ad with one that "examines Mr. Roberts' record on several points, including his advocacy for overturning Roe v. Wade, his statement questioning the right to privacy and his arguments against using a federal civil rights law to protect women and their doctors and nurses from those who use blockades and intimidation." The original ad has been airing on broadcast television in Maine and Rhode Island and on CNN. At least one television station had already refused to run the ad. Mike Young, vice president and general manager of WABI in Bangor, said his station ran the ad before deciding to pull it Thursday after receiving a challenge from the Republican National Committee. "After careful thoughtful analysis, we determined the ad was at worst false, and at best misleading," he said. Conservatives and Roberts supporters have been calling all week for NARAL to pull the ad. NARAL had planned a $500,000 campaign to show the ad for two weeks. "This ad grossly distorts the record of John Roberts from start to finish," said former Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "It has only one goal: to associate John Roberts with violent extremists." Senate Democrats have not taken a position on the ad. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, told The Associated Press that ads for and against Roberts won't sway senators weighing the confirmation. "There has been much furor over these ad campaigns, but I believe that television advertisements are not the point, and should not be the focus of debate or discussion," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday. But Schumer said he would ask Roberts about the constitutionality of abortion clinic protesting at his confirmation hearing. In 1991, Roberts helped write — on behalf of the government — a Supreme Court brief in Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic. In that case, the court limited the federal help available to abortion clinic owners who seek to stop blockades by protesters."

8/11/2005 11:52:58 PM

i'll admit that i haven't followed this Roberts thing all that closely, but i don't see what the uproar is about. it sounds to me like Roberts is about as good as the Democrats could reasonably expect from a GOP President. It seems to me that GWB could've nominated someone much harder to the right, and that a lot of this opposition is just going through the standard political motions, because that's just the way things are done these days in Washington.

Quote :

"But Schumer said he would ask Roberts about the constitutionality of abortion clinic protesting at his confirmation hearing. "

how's that thing about peaceable assembly go?

[Edited on August 12, 2005 at 12:03 AM. Reason : asdfadsf]

8/12/2005 12:00:57 AM

the ad was pretty absurd

and the daily show had a pretty funny piece on it tonight too

8/12/2005 12:07:34 AM

Quote :

"theDuke866: how's that thing about peaceable assembly go?"

I think it's something along the lines of...

Quote :

"Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; provided, that any such speech, press, assemblies or petitions shall not offend the sensibilities, judgment or self-esteem of Sen. Chuck Shumer, Sen. John 'Reporting for Duty' Kerry, Sen. Hillary '2008' Clinton, Gov. Howard 'I Have a Scream' Dean, the Democratic National Committee, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Greenpeace, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Hollywood, George Soros, academia, teh L3ft generally or any other aggrieved minority person or party."

It's been a long time since I was in a civics class though, my memory might be a little fuzzy


[Edited on August 12, 2005 at 12:55 AM. Reason : ---]

8/12/2005 12:51:44 AM

I think you got it all. (long ass thing, isn't it?)

8/12/2005 8:43:27 AM