The conservative Judicial Crisis Network said it will spend $2.2 million on “phase-one” of an ad campaign to pressure senators to confirm whomever President Trump nominates to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
JCN’s initial ad buy will run nationwide on cable television and also target states where incumbent GOP senators are seeking reelection: Colorado, Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina. The ads will also air before audiences in Utah and Washington. They will also run online.
The 30-second ad, “Follow Precedent,” notes that Justice Ginsburg was confirmed in 42 days and accuses Democrats of trying to mislead Americans about the facts surrounding the Supreme Court appointment precedent.
“Tell the Senate, when a strong nominee is named, follow precedent,” a narrator says in the ad. “Confirm the judge.”
In its announcement of its multimillion-dollar ad campaign boosting the yet-to-be-named nominee, JCN president Carrie Severino singled out two judges on Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist: 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett and 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Lagoa.
“There is no reason Judge Amy Coney Barrett or Judge Barbara Lagoa could not be confirmed before the election,” Ms. Severino said in a statement. “Why won’t Democrats support Barrett or Lagoa, like they did [Justices Sandra Day] O’Connor and Ginsburg? Because the Democrats are extremists, which is why they are already threatening to pack the Court and destroy the Senate if a nominee is confirmed.”
Ms. Severino called on the Senate to, “ignore the extremists, stick to precedent, and confirm the nominee.”
Mr. Trump told Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Monday that he was considering four or five women candidates for his Supreme Court appointment that he expects to make at the end of the week.
The multimillion-dollar advertising investment from JCN will meet plenty of competition from their liberal counterparts. Hours after Justice Ginsburg’s death was made public on Friday, liberal activists at Demand Justice committed to spending $10 million advocating to keep the vacancy open until after Inauguration Day 2021.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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