Frist Accused of Exploiting Religion Issue

The New York Times reports that "Democratic senators criticized the Republican majority leader for taking part in a telecast portraying them as 'against people of faith'."

"Our debate over the rules of the Senate and the use of the filibuster has nothing to do with whether one is religious or not," Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said at a news conference with Senator Harry Reid, the minority leader from Nevada. "I cannot imagine that God - with everything he has or she has to worry about - is going to take the time to debate the filibuster in heaven."

The Family Research Council, a Christian conservative advocacy group, has organized an April 24 telecast, "Justice Sunday," which includes prominent conservative Christians speaking by simulcast to churches, Web sites and Christian broadcast networks. Under the heading "The filibuster against people of faith," a flier for the telecast reads, "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

Dr. Frist will join the telecast through a four-minute videotape, his spokesman said yesterday. Its organizers hope to enlist the grass-roots support of conservative Christians for an imminent Senate battle over Republican proposals to change Senate rules that have enabled the Democratic minority to filibuster, blocking Senate votes on 10 of Mr. Bush's appeals court nominees.

***
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement that he was "deeply troubled" by Dr. Frist's participation. "Whatever one's views may be on this or any other issue," Mr. Foxman said, "playing the religious card is as unacceptable as playing the race card."

***
Displaying pictures of Senator Reid and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, an announcer declares: "They want God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. They say child pornography is protected by the Constitution. Who are these people? Arrogant judges."

[More]

Abe Foxman: "... playing the religious card is as unacceptable as playing the race card."

NO YOU DIDN'T! After showing your ass the way you did over The Passion of the Christ, you have the chutzpah to make a statement like that? Mr. Kettle, meet Mr. Abraham Foxman.

Sen. Dick Durbin: "Our debate over the rules of the Senate and the use of the filibuster has nothing to do with whether one is religious or not."

Really? I think we all know that many of the filibustered nominees are victims of the "Schumer Doctrine", which posits that those with "deeply held religious beliefs" are deemed unfit to sit on the federal judiciary.

Furthermore, it is clear that the type of judges that the Democrats in the Senate would prefer to see nominated are exactly the sort who, among other things, would remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, find posting of the 10 Commandments in public buildings to be a violation of the 1st Amendment, favor abortion and euthanasia, and create a constitutional right to homosexual unions.

Sen. Dick Durbin: "I cannot imagine that God - with everything he has or she has to worry about - is going to take the time to debate the filibuster in heaven."

"... or she ..."? That says all you need to know about what sort of "Catholic" Dick Durbin is.

UPDATE:
Via FreeRepublic, the New York Times "coincidentally" carried an editorial titled "Bill Frist's Religious War" on the exact same subject matter as the above "news story" in the exact same April 16 issue:

Right-wing Christian groups and the Republican politicians they bankroll have done much since the last election to impose their particular religious views on all Americans. But nothing comes close to the shameful declaration of religious war by Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, over the selection of judges for federal courts.

Senator Frist is to appear on a telecast sponsored by the Family Research Council, which styles itself a religious organization but is really just another Washington lobbying concern. The message is that the Democrats who oppose a tiny handful of President Bush's judicial nominations are conducting an assault "against people of faith." By that, Senator Frist and his allies do not mean people of all faiths, only those of their faith.