Media Matters has already shown that conservative activists and media personalities planned to oppose President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, regardless of who it was, for purely political reasons, predicting that an extended fight over that nominee's confirmation would ultimately help to block the rest of the president's agenda and boost their fundraising.

Well, one conservative activist has been caught on tape advising Republican officials to do the same, and admitting that he would knowingly lie about a nominee's ideological background in order to further his own agenda.

TPM Media's Brian Beutler got his hands on a recording of a conference call between Committee for Justice executive director Curt Levey and “Republican operatives” in which Levey offered “candid strategic advice, pressing them to put up a fight against even the most moderate of judges, and providing a glimpse of the GOP's playbook for obstructing Obama nominees.”

On the tape, Levey encourages Republicans to drag out the confirmation process for as long as they can and make the final vote as close to the mid-term elections as possible. Levey specifically recommended delaying the vote until after the August recess “because that forces the red and purple state Democrats to have to go home and face their constituents.”

The call took place on April 22, before anyone knew who the nominee would be, but Levey made clear that his group would attack Obama's nominee no matter who it was, and would go so far as to lie about a nominee who they knew was a “moderate”:

Levey acknowledged that a filibuster likely won't last--that Obama's nominee, now known to be Solicitor General Elana Kagan, will almost certainly be confirmed. But he hammered home the point to Republicans that there's value in mischaracterizing any nominee, and dragging the fight out as long as possible, whether or not Obama's choice is particularly liberal.

“We wouldn't have a lot to object to if it was [Interior Secretary Ken] Salazar. He's quite moderate as Democrats come,” Levey admitted. "We're not necessarily going to say that if he's nominated, but I think that's the truth." Emphasis mine. This advice was met with laughter by one of the listeners on the call. (Salazar was cited in early reports as a long-shot candidate on Obama's short list.)

As for the potential for political gain, Levey was blunt about what he wanted to see happen:

“Even if it's a nominee that we can't seriously stop, we can accomplish several things, and so a hard fight is worthwhile,” Levey implored. “Certainly it can be to the political advantage of Republicans.... There's everything to be gained from making the Supreme Court vacancy a campaign issue in 2010.”

“There's broader goals such as just distracting Obama from other items on his agenda,” Levey added. “The tougher the fight the less capital and time and resources and floor time in the Senate there is to spend on immigration and climate change, etc.”

It's something for reporters to keep in mind as they gear up to report on a Supreme Court confirmation fight that, by most accounts, will be driven primarily by politics.