Patrick Leahy: “I began this day calling for bipartisanship and civility in this Chamber. It seems that call has fallen on deaf ears…”

“I began this day calling for bipartisanship and civility in this Chamber. It seems that call has fallen on deaf ears with Republicans renewing their baseless charges that Democrats are anti-Catholic. Some Republicans keep recycling these reckless charges even though they are false. They do so in order to play wedge politics, the type of dirty politics preferred by the President's strategist Karl Rove. I have called on the White House to disavow these charges of religious bigotry. After all, President Bush ran for office claiming that he would change the tone in Washington and ``be a uniter, not a divider.'' His repeated actions to the contrary speak louder than his words. I have called on the Republican administration to disavow these anti-Catholic claims. Everyone knows that the President's father's counsel is pushing these false and partisan charges against Democrats. The White House has not stopped these charges. Its allies continue to throw this mud. It is beneath the dignity of this body. Anyone who reviewed the public submissions of the 197 judicial nominees of President Bush we have confirmed would see that many of these nominees have been active volunteers in their communities, including their parishes and other faith-based organizations.”