When we think of the word “judicial” what comes to mind is truth. My preconceived thoughts come from the Latin meaning jus right, law and dicere to determine. Hence, my conclusion at first glance-an organization seeking the truth-without political bias, with a dedication to the constitution. Judicial Confirmation Network has an agenda, which they tout is integrity, common sense, education and experience in the law and lastly, a devotion to the Constitution.

All those wonderful words that make us seek the truth, not just with our minds but with our hearts. Their “About Us” section makes you believe that those virtues of which they speak, is their goal. That is when reality of what they really stand for becomes clear, not only with the video that is on their website http://judicialnetwork.com/, but the fact that they are using it as a campaign ad against Barack Obama. If you are a legitimate group trying to send a strong and powerful message the last possible method you use is an attack ad. That not only takes away from the message but uncovers the ugly underbelly of what you truly stand for. Those powerful words like integrity and zeal for the constitution become tarnished with their twisted ideology of lies which they perpetuate in TV ads in Michigan and Ohio currently-but is being launched nationally.

To give you a little background on their true agenda and what they have been endorsing over the years-will give you an insight into their deeply entrenched right-wing philosophies. Back in July 2005, Bush taps conservative Appeals Court Judge John Roberts for the Supreme Court. Gary Marx, the Executive Director of the Judicial Confirmation Network fully endorsed this Bush nomination.

Marx has also worked as a coalition organizer for the Bush-Cheney 2004 national campaign and served as Development Director and lobbyist for The Family Foundation of Virginia.

Here is what Gary Marx had to say at the time to Democracy Now about the John Roberts nomination.

You know, they support the President and they support his nominee, especially a place like Indiana where this nominee hails from. Senator Biden is going to have a difficult decision to make and Senator Kent Conrad in North Dakota is up for re-election in 2006. We have a mainstream nominee who is one of the most qualified you’ll ever find, argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, tremendous experience, tremendous personal integrity and humbleness, and I think it’s going to be very difficult for a lot of democrat senators in the middle like Mary Landrieu to somehow oppose this nominee and at minimum at least give him a fair up or down vote and not allow a filibuster to go forward on this nomination.

The biggest problem I had with this choice was, as deputy solicitor general for the first Bush administration in 1990, he argued in favor of a government regulation banning abortion-related counseling in federally financed family planning programs.

He also helped write a brief then that restated the administration’s opposition to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established the constitutional right to abortion, contending, “We continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled.” Also, replacing Justice O’Connor with Roberts-puts Roe v. Wade in jeopardy in the future-that is not an issue most Americans are willing to compromise on.

In July 2006, many right-wing groups formed a coalition to deliver a letter to the Senate GOP leaders for action on Judge Terrence Boyle. These organizational leaders got together to support George Bush’s circuit court nominee pending before the full Senate.

Phyllis Schlafly from the Eagle Forum, Gary Marx from JCN, and Tom Shields from the Coalition for Marriage and Family to name a few that rallied together to send this letter. We see once again that Gary Marx is supporting another George Bush decision and the other name that jumped out at me was Phyllis Schafly. Are we seeing a political bias here? I would say it is a neon beacon.

A noteworthy part of their letter stated that Democrat Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden; never granted a hearing when Judge Boyle was first nominated by President George H.W. Bush. It is another judicious decision by Senator Biden that deserves praise.

The Judicial Confirmation Network is a right wing group that is launching a full scale attack on Barack Obama. The first phase with a vested interest of $1 million dollars, includes television ads in national and targeted markets. Under the guise-of raising awareness and recruiting activists for their cause on the issue of the U.S. Supreme Court-to promote their campaign of lies to further the Republican policies. They have been exposed as just another Bush lackey.

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