CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
April 24, 2009 – 12:09 a.m.
Blocked Nomination Shows Weakness of Anti-Abortion Groups
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff
For the first time, anti-abortion activists are getting traction in an effort to block one of President Obama’s nominees.
But the delay in Senate consideration of Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel may actually demonstrate the weakness, not the strength, of social conservatives in the months following Obama’s election.
That’s because a campaign to thwart Johnsen’s appointment based on her abortion-rights record is only a secondary part of the case foes are presenting against her. Efforts to defeat other nominees on social policy grounds have fallen flat, as even Republican senators have ignored the pleas of outside conservative groups until lately.
Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, who had represented clients in the pornography industry, was an early target. But only 28 senators voted against him.
On Thursday, anti-abortion groups won what appears to be a small battle in a war against the confirmation of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., objected to a request for unanimous consent to move to a vote on Sebelius, possibly setting up a 60-vote threshold for her to be confirmed.
But Republicans say the nomination of Sebelius, who was targeted because of her past campaign contributions from a doctor who has performed late-term abortions and her vetoes of abortion restrictions, does not appear to be in any danger of being rejected or indefinitely delayed.
Social conservatives say it is typical for Republican senators to pay less attention to them early on in an election cycle and then turn to them for support before voters head to the polls.
However, Johnsen has provided a rallying point for social conservatives and national security hard-liners within the Republican Party.
“She is a dream come true for the conservative coalition,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports women candidates for Congress who oppose abortion rights.
Johnsen, a former head of legal policy for NARAL Pro-Choice America whose writings on abortion provide plenty of fodder for social conservatives, angered security hawks with her criticism of OLC’s counterterrorism policies during the Bush administration.
“I will oppose the nomination of Dawn Johnsen because she has not demonstrated to my satisfaction the requisite seriousness and resolve to meet the very real national security challenges that this nation confronts today,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said before the Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to send her nomination to the full Senate.
That was more than a month ago.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has not yet scheduled a vote on Johnsen, and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., says “there may not be enough votes” to cut off a filibuster.
Reid, who is up for re-election in 2010 and has navigated a moderate path on abortion over the years, may prefer not to force potentially vulnerable incumbents, including himself, to vote on Johnsen.
Electoral Considerations
The question is a tough one for both of Pennsylvania’s senators, Republican Arlen Specter and Democrat Bob Casey.
Casey’s family is famous in national politics for representing socially conservative views in the Democratic Party.
Specter, who is up for re-election next year, is already feeling heat on his right flank from a primary challenge by former Rep. Patrick J. Toomey (1999-2005) who is a favorite of fiscal and social conservatives.
Specter, who told CQ earlier this week that a filibuster on Johnsen was possible, abstained from voting on her in the Judiciary Committee, citing a need for more information.
At least one conservative Democratic senator, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, is signaling that Johnsen won’t get his support.
“Senator Nelson is very concerned about the nomination of Dawn Johnsen, based on her previous position as Counsel for NARAL. He believes that the Office of Legal Counsel is a position in which personal views can have an impact and is concerned about her outspoken pro-choice views on abortion,” said spokesman Clay Westrope.
Reasons to Block
To the extent that abortion is playing a role in blocking Johnsen, it is a supporting one, according to Republican senators.
“This is not mostly about abortion,” Kyl said.
Or, as South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham characterized the justifications for opposing Johnsen: “There’s a Chinese menu of reasons.”
Marge Baker, executive vice president for policy and program planning at the liberal People for the American Way, says it is hypocritical for Republican senators, who vociferously objected to Democratic filibusters of President George W. Bush ’s judicial nominees, to block Johnsen.
It is the national security angle that is the central theme of a PFAW campaign to pressure GOP senators in their home states.
That effort features a recording of Kathleen Turner, the sultry voiced star of the films “Body Heat” and “Romancing the Stone.”
“George Bush used this office to provide the legal justifications for torture and illegal spying. Because of Dawn’s courageous opposition to those policies, the right wing wants to block her confirmation. But we can’t let them,” Turner says, according to a transcript of the phone call distributed by PFAW.
Social conservatives say whatever the reasons Republican senators give for opposing her nomination, Johnsen has given a boost to their troops.
“The outside groups are fired up,” said one senior Republican aide.
Comments
So it is NOT OK to torture and to spy on those who want to kill Americans, but it is perfectly OK to kill an unborn baby, who cannot defend himself? So how many dead babies does Dawn Johnsen have on her hands?
No, Jimmytoms, it is not OK to torture, and the spying that anyone has a problem with was on unsuspecting Americans who have done nothing wrong. Both are Ilegal. Abortion is not, and it has been around for thousands of years, and no amount of legislation will make it disappear. Mrs. Johnsen has no dead babies on her hands. She has 2 children as a matter of fact. Being pro-abortion rights does not equate in any way with being pro-dead babies. And are you saying that it IS OK to torture, and to spy on Americans?
Like Custer and his soldiers at the Little Big Horn, the social conservatives are demographically and lectoralyy out gunned witheven bigger reserves on the way for futue elections. Their cultural entitlement days are aver, and they are kicking and screaming all the way to their political wake.
Watching this fight over abortion play out again is just too much. Republicans will fight like hel* to save a unborn baby, and fight equally as hard to make sure they do not have a single chance to make it in this world, by fighting social services--you know, the "welfare" crew all you repuks are always screaming about. Perfect case in point: Alaska/palin/stimulus dollars. The only money palin refused out of the stim is the exact money that would assist with social services and education. How do you pretend to care so much about kids, and the mentally challenged, and then cut that same funding out that would indeed help them. Palin is a pathological liar, and has over used the word "christian" until, coming from her, it has no meaning--it is all a pile of trash talk coming from a hypocrite. Republicans are using abortion ---AGAIN--- as a wedge issue to divide this country because they lost the election and have absolutely no solutions, or even suggestions, to ANY of the problems facing America right now. When all else fails, fall back on the abortion issue. Yesh--well it is not working anymore. NO ONE believes in abortion; people do believe in choice. Their numbers are at a very low 21%, and dropping fast. America is sick to death of the racist hate & fearmongering spewed by the repukes.
This is a reply to nors and his accurate comments about anti-abortion groups. However, as a fervent prochoicer and a 9-year couselor of abortion patients, I want to point out a significant exeption to this otherwise excellent description. The Catholic Church. They have a strong history of opposition to all women's rights (which is their business) and a vicious desire to inflict their views on the rest of us, codified into law ( which is OUR business ). But they do offer services to women who complete their pregnancies--places to live, prenatal care, counseling, household help, etc. Make no mistake about my allegiances. I DON'T LIKE TEHEOCRACY. But give the Devil his due..
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