Liberals plan opposition to Roberts
Knight Ridder Newspapers report: Leading Democrats and key interest groups intend to build a case against John G. Roberts' nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by highlighting his past stands on civil rights and women's issues and downplaying more divisive topics such as abortion and school prayer.
When confirmation hearings begin Sept. 6, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee will concentrate on Roberts' writings that shed light on his views of affirmative action, voting rights, pay equity and discrimination, aides and activists said.
That focus has evolved over the past several weeks, even though the most vocal opposition to Roberts has come from supporters of abortion rights. Senate Democratic aides and strategists said Democrats had more to gain by portraying Roberts as outside the mainstream on broad questions of fairness than on a polarizing subject such as abortion. Even if they can't defeat Roberts, they hope to define his conservative values in ways that will hurt Republicans and help Democrats in the 2006 congressional elections. -- KRT Wire | 08/19/2005 | Democrats to target Roberts' views on race, gender equality