A friend to personal-injury trial lawyers?''

Is that it? Is that the best the Republican National Committee can muster?

Immediately upon announcing that John Edwards would be John Kerry's pick for vice president, the Republican National Committee intoned that Edwards was a poor choice, in large part, because he is a "friend to personal injury trial lawyers.''

As a Republican, a conservative, a supporter of President Bush, counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush and as a trial lawyer, I would caution against such empty-headed rhetoric.

Why?

For one thing, it will come back to bite the Republicans. Mel Martinez -- a former Bush Cabinet member and likely the Republicans' best hope for gaining a Senate seat in Florida -- is himself a trial lawyer. The same Republicans who extol his candidacy excoriate Edwards because of his occupation. And lest we forget -- the Republicans' most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, was a trial lawyer, and a mighty fine one at that.

Excerpts from transcripts of Lincoln's trials are frequently used as teaching tools for lawyers and law students today. Also, 40 percent of lawyers in Florida today are trial lawyers. Does the RNC disavow them? Will it refuse to accept their votes and support?

And if the rap on Edwards is that he is the friend of personal-injury trial lawyers, where does this leave the RNC? Is the RNC the friend of the drunk driver -- sued by the trial lawyer -- who blew the stop sign and caused a young mother to be a quadriplegic? Is it the friend of the car company -- again, sued by the trial lawyer -- that consciously decided not to fix its defective gas tanks, which, upon impact, were causing its vehicles occupants to be incinerated?

The RNC needs to be careful here.

The mere fact that someone is a trial lawyer should not be the gauge by which to judge that person. All professions have members who reflect poorly on them. Doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs -- all have members who are an embarrassment to the others. Should we all bemoan unscrupulous members of the trial bar? Of course. But let's be careful not to paint with too broad a brush.

Election almost stolen

Just because there were bad apples at Halliburton doesn't mean that Vice President Cheney was among them. And should President Bush be credited with the indiscretions and racial prejudices of Marge Schott? After all, they were both owners of baseball teams.

Name-calling by the RNC serves no useful purpose for anyone but the Democrats, who will be quick to point out the hypocrisy behind the RNC's accusations. Republicans will do well to stay focused on issues and to avoid the name-calling. Republican values of lower taxes, less government and more freedom are winning the hearts and minds of the American people -- let's not lose those hearts and minds by demeaning others simply because of their chosen profession.

After all, trial lawyers were the first persons called by Bush and Cheney in 2000, when Republicans feared that the election was about to be stolen. It is because of the successful efforts of those trial lawyers that Bush and Cheney are now up for reelection.

Ken Connor is a Republican and a personal-injury trial lawyer. He is lead counsel representing Gov. Jeb Bush in the Terry Schiavo litigation.

 

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