US: Senate majority leader Bill Frist has stepped up his battle to have conservative judges confirmed in Congress by joining an evangelical Christian crusade which accuses Democrats of acting "against people of faith" in blocking some judicial nominations.
The top Senate Republican took part in a telecast from a mega-church in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday evening in which he warned that the Republican majority in the Senate would impose the "nuclear option" in the Senate to stop Democrats blocking judicial appointments.
The event, called "Justice Sunday: Stop the Filibuster against People of Faith", was sponsored by the Family Research Council, which promotes the "Judeo-Christian worldview" and champions marriage and the family as the "foundation of civilisation, the seedbed of virtue and the wellspring of society".
The live broadcast, which featured a congregation of 2,000, reached 61 million households in 44 states, the organisers claimed. Council president Tony Perkins set the tone by declaring: "A minority of liberal senators is kowtowing to the demands of left-wing interest groups [ for] abortion on demand, rampant obscenity and same-sex marriage, aided by a politicised judiciary". Speaking with a bust of Abraham Lincoln and an American flag behind him, Senator Frist said that it was not "radical" to ask senators to use their majority to confirm President Bush's nominees.
Senate minority leader Harry Reid had accused Mr Frist of taking a "radical" step by throwing in his lot with conservative Christians to get support for ending the system of filibuster, under which judicial nominations can be blocked.
It takes 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to overcome a filibuster and force a final vote. Republicans have a 55-44 majority. Democrats have threatened to bring the business of the chamber to a halt if Republicans adopt the "nuclear option" and vote to do away with the filibuster. Democrats blocked 10 appointments in President Bush's first term and the president has renominated seven since he won re-election.
Criticism of Mr Frist for taking part in a rally which depicted them as a "godless party" was not confined to Democrats. Senator Lindsay Graham, a Republican, said he did not think it was appropriate to say that "those who oppose these nominees are people who lack faith".
The issue, which has poisoned inter-party relations, could come to a head when the Senate fixes a date in the coming days for a vote on one of the renominated judges - likely to be Texas Supreme Court judge Priscilla Owen, who was cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week for promotion to the Federal Appeals Court on a partisan vote. Democrats say she has shown business and conservative bias in her rulings and oppose her confirmation.
About 1,200 Christians gathered at a Presbyterian church in Louisville at the same time as Sunday's telecast and heard liberal evangelical leader Jim Wakkis protest about the "declaration of religious war" by the right.
In his videotaped remarks, Senator Frist steered clear of criticising individual judges, saying that they deserved "respect, not retaliation", no matter how they ruled - a put-down of his party colleague in the House, majority leader Tom DeLay, who has threatened impeachment of judges whose rulings have offended the Christian right.