[JURIST] In a speech [prepared remarks] delivered to the National Press Club Tuesday, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson [official website; profile] accused the federal judiciary of usurping legislative and executive power, called for the Senate leadership to force votes on President Bush's judicial nominations [JURIST report], and suggested that Democrats blocked those nominations at their electoral peril:

Even as we opposed tyranny abroad, we also oppose tyranny at home. In my view, the greatest cause of domestic political discord is the usurpation of legislative and executive power by non-elected judges who are not content adjudicating cases between litigants, but attempt to determine from the bench matters given by the Constitution to the elected Congress and the President....

People of faith feel outraged and helpless as they watch unelected judges methodically crafting a Constitution unknown to the founders which permits the virtual extirpation from the public square of our time-honored affirmation of faith, then gives by judicial fiat federal constitutional protection (beyond the reach of any elected body) to abortion on demand, homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and blatant Internet pornography.

People of faith want the Congress to take back the power given it under the Constitution to limit where necessary the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and follow clear constitutional guidelines for the confirmation of federal judges. The Senate Republicans have the votes to force up or down votes for the confirmation of the president's judicial appointments. Majority vote, not the filibuster, is the American way. The defeat of the former minority leader of the Senate should send a clear message that obstructionism, especially when it concerns the confirmation of Judges, does not sit well with American voters.