Bauer: America doesn't want another moderate

Oh, and please send money.

Tim Grieve

Jul 1, 2005 | Gary Bauer is out with his insights into the "brutal" confirmation process that's coming -- and with a request for contributions to help pay for the right's side of the fight.

In an e-mail to supporters, Bauer says that George W. Bush should reject the "shrill cries from the radical left and Senate liberals" who will "demand" that he nominate another "moderate" to carry on Sandra Day O'Connor's legacy. Bauer says the public doesn't want a middle-of-the-road conservative justice. "The public is increasingly disturbed by a Supreme Court that says it is OK to seize private property; that issues contradictory opinions on the Ten Commandments; that finds partial-birth abortion to be a cherished right; and which looks to foreign opinion for guidance in interpreting our own Constitution," Bauer writes.

Bauer says that O'Connor's resignation presents a "unique opportunity to restore balance to the nation's highest court." Never mind that seven of the nine sitting justices were appointed by Republican presidents. Bauer wants more. The White House should make it clear, he says, that it's picking a nominee who has "no problem with 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance, no problem with the Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn, and understands that marriage is between a man and a woman."

We're not sure we speak Bauerese, but we think that translates into "No more Souters." It also translates, apparently, into "Send money now."

"We assume the president will do what he has repeatedly promised to do -- nominate a justice like Scalia or Thomas," Bauer writes. "If he does, it will be a brutal battle, and we will support him wholeheartedly in that fight. And we will need your help to succeed ... Please support American Values today with a special, tax-deductible gift for our educational and media efforts."

Bauer says it's "gut-check" time for the "pro-family movement," the "moment we have fought so long and hard for. With your help, and God's blessing, we will prevail."

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