WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Some months ago, President George W. Bush nominated Brooks Smith to a seat on the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Smith is a federal judge in Pennsylvania and, in American politics, it is generally assumed that a nominee who has made it successfully through the process once will sail through the next time.
But, as is the case with a great many of Bush's judicial nominees, Smith is not getting a fair shake from the U.S. Senate.
Smith is being attacked by the National Organization for Women and other liberal special-interest groups, for a number of reasons, including his memberhsip in the men-only Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club, and because he is pro-life.
That is what this is really about.
Over two-thirds of Americans believe that abortion on demand is wrong. People of good will differ as to how far the government should go in stopping abortion but survey data shows that most of us agree abortion on demand is wrong.
In order to stop judicial nominees that hold to that opinion, groups like NOW are engaged in diversionary tactics, looking to create other issues over which the nomination can be derailed.
During the confirmation hearings for his seat on the district court, Smith's membership in the Spruce Creek Club was raised.
At the time, Smith described it as a "rather small and rather informal and non-business-related type of club."
He said he would resign from the club if they did not change their policy on membership because he believed that the code of ethics for judges, to which he was not at that time bound, required him to resign.
After further examination of the code, Smith concluded that, in certain circumstances, membership in social clubs like Spruce Creek are allowed.
Smith did not resign until 1999.
However, the Code of Judicial Conduct makes it clear that federal judges may belong to clubs that restricts membership on the basis of sex provded that they do not discriminate on an individual basis and as long as the purpose of the club is only social.
There are other types of clubs that fall into this catagory including women's-only and men's-only health clubs as well as community organizations like the Junior League. All may may restrict membership based on sex.
Since Smith was nominated in September, people who know him and know his record have characterized him as a competent judge with a solid 14-year record on the federal bench. Widely seen as fair, he has a strong record on civil rights and women's issues.
Since a Democratically controlled Senate had previously confirmed him, this nomination should have been a cakewalk.
Instead, what has followed is a campaign of inuenedo led by a bevy of civil rights groups, environmentalists and feminists led by NOW, who are interfering with the orderal process of judicial confirmation.
Smith has an excellent judicial record, which forces the focus of the arguments against him to be based on events in his personal life.
The Senate Judiciary Committee needs to move beyond these inuendos and follow the Constitution, which requires the Senate to give "advice and consent" on presidential nominees to certain positions.
To be clear, this means the full Senate should be permitted to vote on the president's nominees, as opposed to the interpretation of Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
If the Judiciary Committee's majority members continue to thwart, as they did with Judge Charles Pickering, the intent of the Constitution, then we need to take steps to insure that as many of them as possible are removed from office in 2002.
Smith is a competent and accomplished judge who has served honorably for 14 years. He, and the more than 90 other presidential nominees languishing in limbo, need to be given their due and brought before the full Senate for a vote.
Martha Zoller is the host of WDUN Newstalk 550's "The Martha Zoller Show" in the Atlanta area. She is a panelist on the long-running Fox5 Atlanta public-affairs show, "The Georgia Gang."
