A conservative group supporting Samuel Alito’s confirmation will launch TV ads in North and South Dakota this weekend that ask moderate Senate Democrats to “stand with mainstream America, not Ted Kennedy.”
The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary is spending $100,000 on the TV ads. Two Democratic senators, Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Tim Johnson (S.D.), are targeted in the 30-second commercials. Both remain undecided about Alito's confirmation.
Conrad has the most to lose if he chooses to cast a "no" vote. He is up for re-election in November and hails from a conservative state that President Bush easily carried in 2000 and 2004.
The ads, which are available on the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary’s website, ask constituents to call their senator’s office. A female announcer declares:
“Along with Democrats and Republicans, newspapers across America: the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, the Fargo Forum, are endorsing Judge Samuel Alito for the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Yet politically motivated liberal extremists like Ted Kennedy continue to attack Judge Alito. Senator Kent Conrad will soon cast his vote. Call Senator Conrad and tell him to vote yes on Judge Alito and stand with mainstream America, not Ted Kennedy.”
Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, said, “Liberal Democrats such as Ted Kennedy are already making Judge Alito an election-year issue even though support for his Alito is wide and deep across the country as evidenced by numerous editorial endorsements - even from liberal newspapers such as the Washington Post. Our message to moderate Democrats is they have a choice: they can stand with the American people or they can stand with liberal extremists like Ted Kennedy.”
