It was bad enough when Roll Call reported last week (“Reid: Roberts Will Join Court,” 9/21/05) that Senate Judiciary Committee senators were taken to the woodshed over John Roberts by the radical founder of People for the American Way:
“. . . two of Reid’s top lieutenants, Sens. Dick Durbin (D- Ill.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), received a sharp rebuke at a weekend meeting in Los Angeles from wealthy activists such as television producer Norman Lear over Roberts’ glide path to confirmation.
“At an event on behalf of People For the American Way, the first of the major liberal groups to announce opposition to Roberts, Lear lashed out at the Democrats for not mounting more determined resistance to the nomination, according to several sources familiar with the event.”
But now even liberal columnist Mark Shields is criticizing Dems for their total domination by liberal groups. The Democratic dilemma is that it is getting harder and harder to please the wealthy liberals who fund their party and still win elections in heartland America.