White House, Congress condemn ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress and the White House angrily condemned an appeals court decision against the Pledge of Allegiance on Wednesday, condemning the ruling as an outrage and “just nuts.” Senators, who were debating a defense bill, stopped their business to work on a resolution criticizing the decision of a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Lawmakers also said they would push for a constitutional amendment authorizing the words “under God” if the Supreme Court doesn’t reverse the decision barring the pledge in public schools.
“This decision is just nuts,” said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
In a 2-1 ruling, the California court panel said the phrase referring to God violates the Constitution’s clause barring establishment of religion.
President Bush’s spokesman, Ari Fleischer, branded that decision “ridiculous” and said the Justice Department would fight it.”
He did not say how.
“This decision will not sit well with the American people,” Fleischer said, speaking at a summit Bush was attending in Canada.
“Certainly, it does not sit well with the president of the United States.”
Fleischer said the Supreme Court and Congress open each session with references to God, and the Declaration of Independence refers to God or the Creator four times.
“The view of the White House is that this was a wrong decision,” Fleischer said.
The decision was written by Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, whom Senate President Pro Tem Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., called an “atheist lawyer.”
“I hope his name never comes before this body for any promotion, because he will be remembered,” said Byrd.
Democrats pointed out that Goodwin was appointed to the appeals court by Republican President Nixon in 1971.
“Our Founding Fathers must be spinning in their graves,” said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. “What is next? Will the courts now strip ‘So help me God’ from the pledge taken by new presidents? This is the worst kind of political correctness run amok.”
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., a former vice presidential candidate, immediately called for a constitutional amendment to make sure the words stay in the pledge: “There may have been a more senseless, ridiculous decision issued by a court at some time – but I don’t remember it.”
“Let us not wait for the Supreme Court to act on this,” said Sen. John Warner, R-Va. “Why don’t we go ahead and formulate this amendment, put it together, have it in place, presumably with all 100 United States senators.”
“What’s next?” said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. “Will our courts, in their zeal to abolish all religious faith from public arenas, outlaw ‘God Bless America,’ too? The great strength of the United States is that we are and will continue to be, despite the liberal court’s decision, one nation under God.”
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., led GOP calls to put more conservative judges on the federal courts. The 9th Circuit Court is known as the most liberal appeals court in the nation.
Democrats and Republicans have been fighting all year over the pace of the Senate’s confirmation of Bush’s conservative judicial nominations.
Three of Bush’s 9th Circuit nominees, Carolyn Kuhl, Richard Clifton and Jay Bybee, have yet to be voted on by the Democratic-controlled Senate.