Conservative Groups Launch Ads on Judicial Nominees

(CNSNews.com) - Two conservative groups paired up Thursday to launch a national ad campaign to educate grassroots groups and voters on their senators' actions and inactions on President Bush's judicial nominees.

The Family Research Council and Focus on the Family launched the first of the two ads Thursday in the Washington Times. A second will be launched in Nevada Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's state. According to a press release, the ads urge senators to uphold the Constitution and "vote yea or vote nay but VOTE!"
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According to FRC President Tony Perkins, the ads "are just the beginning." He said his group and Focus on the Family want every American to know which senators "are doing their constitutional duty and upholding family, faith and freedom and which are not. We have no higher priority in 2005."

I think these organizations are misdirecting these ads. The Washington Times? Who, other than a few conservative Beltway insiders, reads that? Nevada, the home state of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid? Didn't that state just overwhelmingly re-elect Harry Reid to another 6-year term? How much pressure is Reid going to be feeling fresh off his re-election (especially when compared to the pressure he must be getting from special interest groups like MoveOn, People for the American Way, and NARAL)?

The organizations placing these ads would be much better served targeting them to a few other "red" states with 1 or 2 Democrat Senators. For example: Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota.

Another "red" state with a recently elected Democrat Senator would merit an ad blitz because of statements the Democrat made in order to get elected. During Colorado's close Senatorial election, Democrat Ken Salazar indicated that he would not take part in holding up judicial nominees by filibuster. Since being elected, however, Salazar has reneged on that promise. Ads to remind the voters of this might be effective.

Finally, it wouldn't hurt to run ads in "blue" states where President Bush ran close races in 2004. These states include: Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Maybe the grass-roots organizations taking out these ads are already planning to do all or part of what I have suggested as part of the next phase of their strategy. It just seems to me that the first phase is not likely to reap any dividends.