New York Newsday
November 05, 2003
A Republican group that backs President Bush's judicial nominees began airing a TV ad Wednesday that says "shame on you" to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards for failing to support Janice Rogers Brown for a seat on the federal appeals court.
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Committee for Justice is targeting the North Carolina senator, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as the panel prepares to take up Brown's nomination Thursday. The 30-second spot was slated to run at least through Friday in South Carolina, an early Democratic primary state where Edwards has made a strong showing.
Sean Rushton, the group's executive director, wouldn't disclose the cost of the ad.
Brown, a conservative California Supreme Court Justice, has been nominated for a seat on the 12-member U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She has been opposed by the NAACP, and Democrats say the jurist, who is black, frequently rules against discrimination victims.
In the ad, black-and-white snapshots of Brown as a child, single mother and law school graduate flash on the screen as an American flag waves in the background.
"Today, President Bush wants this highly qualified judge on the D.C. federal court of appeals, the second highest court in America, and now John Edwards says 'No way.' Shame on you Sen. Edwards," an announcer says, as a picture of Edwards flashes on the screen.
In a statement, Edwards defended his position, saying Brown's confirmation would be a step backward for civil rights.
"She has a record of repeatedly putting her own views above the law -- views that are hostile to fundamental civil and constitutional rights and to affirmative action in particular," Edwards said.