In his speech, Mehlman praised President Bush's domestic record and his selection of Roberts, criticized judicial activism and trumpeted the party's outreach to black and Hispanic voters.
Mehlman argued that in 1993, Bill Clinton picked Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a judge with a liberal record, for the high court and Senate Republicans treated her fairly although she declined to answer many specific questions at her confirmation hearing. ''But the process was orderly and dignified nevertheless, thanks to Republicans who understood that she was fair-minded and qualified," Mehlman said. ''I believe Judge Roberts has the right to expect the same treatment and the same swift confirmation."
He criticized Democrats and liberal groups who try to portray Roberts as anything less than an impartial jurist.
''Unfortunately, some on the other side want to turn a judicial confirmation into a political campaign," said Mehlman, arguing that Roberts would be a ''superb Supreme Court justice."
In his speech, Santorum said conservatism ''is good old American values" that have been discarded over the past several decades. A strong traditional family -- which he defined as a married man and woman -- is good for all communities, he added. When he speaks in urban communities in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere, Santorum said his message is met with ''hallelujahs" and ''amens."
The last time the Republican National Committee was in Pittsburgh, a Democratic stronghold, was 1856 -- four years before choosing Abraham Lincoln as its presidential nominee.
Mehlman invoked the Great Emancipator's name as he targeted traditionally Democratic minorities. ''The party of Lincoln trusts the people," he said. ''We believe in democratic decision making."
Democrats accused Republicans of paying lip service to inclusiveness.
''Empty rhetoric and hollow promises aren't enough if the Republican Party isn't willing to back it up with real action," Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement in which he called on the GOP to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, whose key provisions are set to expire.
Mehlman also said judicial activism derails the political process, citing the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and last year's ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage. He said the Massachusetts court's intervention made ''it that much more difficult to come to a national consensus on the issue through the democratic process."
The Republican chairman cited Bush's recent legislative successes, including a massive highway bill, a free-trade agreement, and an energy measure. He made no mention of Iraq and the US effort to bring democracy to the region.
