Reform Rabbi Reflexively Rejects Religious Right

In, Lively Opinion, Intermountain Jewish News - IJN (5/20/05), Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, makes several assertions which are vacuous, factually wrong and politically inspired. In his most recent press conference, President Bush contented that orchestrated opposition, to his Circuit and Appellate judicial nominees, was based on (their) “judicial philosophy”. Contrary to Rabbi Saperstein’s claim, Bush’s statement in no way repudiated anyone or rejected anything that has been said by (other) Republicans, supporters in Congress or Religious Leaders.
Saperstein goes on to say that a majority of Senators are being propelled to change the filibuster rule in order to advance religious nominees. In fact, it is the minority that will ultimately compel such action, due to their misuse of Parliamentary Procedure, hoping to keep qualified “people of faith” from ever getting a simple up-or-down vote.
Having twisted these facts to suit his own political proclivities, Saperstein then makes the ridiculous assertion that Republicans - who never met an extreme Religious justice they didn’t like, would reflexively reject extreme secular judges. In truth, Republican Senators would likely vote down “extreme” nominees of either persuasion, if using the filibuster didn’t preclude such evidence from coming to light.
It was odd to hear a rabbi say that “making a religious claim for a position does not make that position right”. Maybe Saperstein thinks that the Shema, proclaiming there is but one G-d, is open to debate? I wonder how many of the Ten Commandments, Rabbi Saperstein would challenge? So much for spiritual leadership, chalk up another victory for moral relativism and the Culture of Me First.
By repeatedly labeling (these) judicial nominees as too extreme, without ever identifying any characteristics, positions or specifics (other than their common Christian backgrounds) Saperstein and the Senate Democrats make the case for religious discrimination themselves.
The only time this Rabbi and the President would agree is if Bush, ignored the 62+ million Americans who re-elected him (along with a 55-45 Senate majority), and nominated Judges who passed the Liberal litmus tests of Abortion on Demand, Homosexual Marriage and removing G-d from the Public Square. When it comes to thinking about the future of the Judiciary, President Bush is religiously right and Rabbi David Saperstein has got it wrong, wrong, wrong.