WASHINGTON, September 18, 2002 (LSN.ca) - In what has emerged as a clear strategy of partisan ideological obstruction of well-qualified judges, left-wing groups affiliated with the Democratic Party have vowed to destroy another Bush judicial nominee. Their fifth and latest target is 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Michael McConnell, a conservative law professor and Reagan-era assistant solicitor general. Leading the charge are the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) and People For the American Way. They and other groups accuse McConnell of “extremism” including past criticism of the unsound philosophy behind Roe v. Wade. They cite a 1998 quote in which McConnell said: “The reasoning of Roe v. Wade is an embarrassment to those who take constitutional law seriously.” But John Nowacki of the Free Congress Foundation says: “Groups like that don’t have any credibility when they call somebody an extremist.” He added: “McConnell is absolutely right to criticize the Supreme Court for having avoided the question of whether an unborn child is a person under the Constitution. ... An ideal nominee is someone who has had experience as a judge, or a scholar, or a practitioner. ... It seems the Democrats keep trying to move things toward a process where the only nominee who can make it out of committee is someone who hasn’t done anything but commit to their political ideology.” To read the Justice Department’s dossier on McConnell see: http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/mcconnell.htm To read the left-wing groups’ arguments see: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=5011, http://www.au.org/press/pr091702.htm and http://www.prochoice.org/Media/PR/2002/09172002.htm To see a Press Release from the National Abortion Federation, congratulating Senate Democrats for rejecting Priscilla Owen: http://www.prochoice.org/Media/PR/2002/09052002.htm