July 12, 2005
By Mark Wegner and John Stanton
CQ TODAY
From coalitions and grassroots to field staff and consultants, the collective campaign preparing to support President Bush's next Supreme Court nominee will borrow heavily from the playbook and roster of Bush's 2004 re-election effort.
"We just had a big knock-down, drag-out fight for the executive branch. You don't think we're going to have a knock-down, drag-out fight for the judicial branch?" Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist asked rhetorically Monday.
Norquist said Bush officials and judicial groups have regularly attended Wednesday "center-right coalition" meetings that he hosts to prepare for a Supreme Court vacancy fight, which was formally triggered by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement announcement.
A source said Norquist, who acts as an unofficial gatekeeper between conservatives and the White House, is expected to play a role in quelling conservative complaints should Bush choose a moderate nominee. But Norquist downplayed the potential for disagreement between social conservatives and business allies.
Meanwhile, as part of the transfer of 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign personnel to interest groups backing Bush's political and policy initiatives, the Bush-friendly group Progress for America late last year hired former Bush-Cheney campaign operative Chris Myers as its executive director.
Myers, who also has worked for the House and Senate GOP campaign committees, as well as for Senate Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, has overseen PFA's work on Social Security, the judicial filibuster fight this spring and the upcoming Supreme Court battle.
One source said PFA this spring also hired former state-level campaign staff, outside consultants and public relations and advertising firms in every state, which Myers can use to bring state-level pressure on lawmakers who either oppose the White House or who have remained on the fence on issues.
A PFA spokeswoman said its field operation is made up of experienced campaign and public relations staff. She said PFA has paid staff in 21 states that have senators whose votes could determine whether Bush's nominee succeeds or fails.
"Our rationale for focusing on the 21 states [is] we believe all of these senators in these states are open to our belief that any nominee is entitled to an up or down vote," she said.
The 21 states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.
PFA, a 501(c) 4 group, has budgeted $18 million for the Supreme Court fight and has hired the DCI Group for public relations and McCarthy Marcus Hennings Ltd. for advertising.
PFA is one of scores of conservative or Republican-allied groups, including the Committee for Justice and the American Center for Law and Justice.
At the head of the Judicial Confirmation Network, a coalition of about 70 groups, is Gary Marx, who served as the Bush campaign's coalitions organizer. Wendy Long, the group's general counsel, is a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The group has worked closely with others to support Bush's judicial nominees, but also claims 650,000 exclusive members, paid staff in six states and a $3 million TV budget for the court fight.
To coordinate its media strategy, the group has hired Creative Response Concepts, which last year did work for PFA and Swiftboat Veterans for Truth.
The Network released a new Internet-based ad Monday that it estimates will soon be seen by 10 million people. It features a family, and then warns their home could be taken because of a Supreme Court decision in June on private property.
"It's the American dream, but now it's threatened. Liberals on the Supreme Court just ruled that the government can seize your own home and give it to private developers," an announcer warns.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Frist's office will head up the effort to push Bush's nominee through the chamber, in coordination with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.
Frist's Chief of Staff Eric Ueland is leading a team of staff drawn from across the GOP's leadership structure dubbed the "Supreme Court Confirmation Center."
The team is essentially a beefed up version of the "Advise and Consent" message team Frist used during the filibuster fight. Ueland will be responsible for coordinating the GOP's message on a daily basis and countering new attacks from Minority Leader Reid and Democrats.
Ueland's team will also be tasked with moving the nomination across the floor, which might include a return to the "nuclear option" fight should Democrats mount a successful filibuster.
According to sources familiar with Frist's preparations, he has been working on his Supreme Court strategy with Rove and other GOP leaders for months, and the Republicans' efforts on behalf of the nominee will likely be tightly scripted.
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