"Justice Sunday" puts Frist on the ropes!

[Ian David]

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PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION
April 28, 2005
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You've helped turn debate on the Senate filibuster around.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the Radical Right are on
the defensive and playing for time. A Washington Post/ABC News
Poll published yesterday shows that an incredible 66% of
Americans oppose plans to change the rules.<1>

In the four weeks since PFAW Foundation launched our national
public education campaign through TV ads and grassroots
organizing, support for the filibuster and opposition to the
"nuclear option" has increased 20 percentage points!

In fact, recent signs that some Republicans want to compromise
suggest that Frist lacks the votes for the "nuclear option."

But Frist has no room to compromise; he has cast his lot (and
his presidential ambitions) with the unbending extremists on the
far right. And the White House, through Karl Rove, has blessed
this take-no-prisoners approach.

Help us expose this extremism.

http://pfaw.kintera.org/adchallenge

We are going to win this battle. Together, we helped persuade
at least three more courageous Republicans to stand up and
promise to defend the Senate's right to filibuster and there are
now several more on-the-fence Republicans speaking critically of
the "nuclear option" in public.

These Republicans Senators are under enormous pressure from
their leaders, but they also know that the checks and balances
embodied in the Senate give it a unique role in our
constitutional system, and do not want to see the filibuster go.

Frist, however, is now between a rock and a hard place after
headlining in the Family Research Council"s "Justice Sunday:
Filibustering People of Faith" -- a shameless manipulation of
religion for partisan gain featuring Focus on the Family's James
Dobson and other religious extremists. Photos and phone numbers
of "targeted" Senators rolled across the screen. The program's
thinly veiled threat to Republican Senators was clear: kill the
filibuster or pay the price.

Dobson defended Tom DeLay's attack on judges. Dobson called the
Supreme Court a "despotic oligarchy" that was "unaccountable,"
"out of control," and needing to be "reigned in." As you and I
know, these far-right zealots will accept nothing less than the
full nuclear escalation. And they want it now, which is why
Frist is very likely to pull the trigger before he loses even
more Republican Senators.

The far right is scrambling to try to take control of this
debate. So this is no time to rest on our laurels. While you and
I have vigorously challenged Frist's power grab, we're only
halfway to victory. As I've said, we need at least six brave
Republicans to join with us -- and that means pouring it on, now.

With your help, here's what People For the American Way
Foundation is doing this week and next:

* First, we're making thousands of calls to our members and
supporters in key states, urging them to personally contact
Republican Senators who are on the fence about the "nuclear
option." This is an expensive endeavor, given the tens of
thousands of PFAW Foundation supporters living in these red
states, but common-sense input from constituents is the best way
to get Senators' attention.

* Second, we must get our TV ads up on more channels in these
key states during the congressional recess next week. If you
haven't seen our most recent ad, check it out.

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18604

It takes the 25-year-old TV spot that launched our organization
-- a thoughtful warning against the manipulation of religion for
political gain -- and frames it within the increasingly
fractious battle over the judiciary and the filibuster. This
important message needs to get out.

This last weekend alone, we raised almost $125,000 of our
$250,000 challenge grant online. We're halfway there, and that's
great news. We still have $125,000 available to match the gifts
you make now.

Double every dollar you give!

http://pfaw.kintera.org/adchallenge

We're turning the tide, but we cannot allow Frist and his
allies to regroup.

Thank you for all you do,
Ralph G. Neas
President

P.S. - People For's aggresive response to the Radical Right's
"Justice Sunday" event last weekend was incredibly successful,
thanks to support from people like you. Rev. Steven Baines,
director of PFAW's Faith Action Network, helped organize and
personally deliver a letter signed by more than 400 faith
leaders who urged Sen. Bill Frist to repudiate Justice Sunday's
religious McCarthyism. PFAW's African American Ministers in
Action project, led by Rev. Romal Tune, coordinated the
placement of fliers responding to "Justice Sunday" in thousands
of church bulletins.

Read the faith leaders' letter to Frist:

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18596

Read PFAW's "Justice Sunday" statement:

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18622

Forward this message to a friend:

http://www.kintera.org/EmailForwarding.asp?mid_backup=140712&campaign_id=32328&tr=y&enString=x&auid=853892

Sign the petition to save the filibuster! Click this link to
add your name if you haven't:

http://pfaw.kintera.org/SaveTheFilibuster

<1> "Filibuster Rule Change Opposed"
By Richard Morin and Dan Balz
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/10/26/AR2005032201677.html
________________________________________________________________

People For the American Way Foundation
2000 M Street, NW | Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20036
http://www.pfaw.org/
1-800-326-PFAW | 202/467-4999

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[woodsprite]

1. While we're talking about ethics,

Is it ethical for a senator to take advantage of churches and encourage them to violate tax law?

[Ian David]

2. Oooh! Very good re-framing! n/t