July 18, 2005
By Timothy Homan
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
WASHINGTON --- Write your congressmen. That's what constituents are told to do when they want their voices heard. And the upcoming battle in the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court nominee provides an opportunity for that type of civic activism beyond the ballot box. ...
Even though Senate Judiciary Committee hearings aren't likely to begin until sometime in early September, after the August congressional recess, special interest groups already are jockeying for position with massive correspondence campaigns --- letters, e-mails and phone calls --- in an attempt to sway influential committee members like Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley.
But Republicans and Democrats alike say they are not easily swayed, especially on issues like abortion, one of the main debates driving liberal and conservative activists to contact senators. ...
Web sites for prominent abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Abortion Rights Action League have form e-mails addressed to senators but no room to add personal comments. NARAL allows abortion rights proponents to add their thoughts but only when forwarding the action alert to friends. ...
Meanwhile, many conservative groups are showing restraint instead of inundating senators in two waves. ...
Another grassroots approach is to have "local people making local calls," said Gary Marx, executive director of the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, founded in January.
Once a nominee is named, Marx said JCN will instruct its 650,000 members in states like Iowa to call the district offices of their senators.
Click here for full story
|
