Posted on 11/04/2004 3:56:03 AM PST by joesbucks
PHILADELPHIA -- The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush today against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation.
Sen. Arlen Specter, fresh from winning a fifth term in Pennsylvania, also said the current Supreme Court now lacks legal "giants" on the bench.
"When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely," Specter said, referring to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
"The president is well aware of what happened, when a bunch of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster," Specter added, referring to Senate Democrats' success over the past four years in blocking the confirmation of many of Bush's conservative judicial picks. "... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning."
With at least three Supreme Court justices rumored to be eyeing retirement, including ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Specter, 74, would have broad authority to reshape the nation's highest court. He would have wide latitude to schedule hearings, call for votes and make the process as easy or as hard as he wants.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., expressed confidence Wednesday that Bush will have more success his second term in winning the confirmation of his judicial nominees.
"I'm very confident that now we've gone from 51 seats to 55 seats, we will be able to overturn this what has become customary filibuster of judicial nominees," Frist said in Orlando, Fla.
Legal scholar Dennis Hutchinson said Specter's message to the White House appears to be "a way of asserting his authority" as he prepares to chair the Judiciary Committee when Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is term-limited from keeping the post next year.
"What he may be trying to do is say, 'Don't just think that I'm going to process what you send through. I have standards, I'm going to take an independent look, you have to deal with me,'" said Hutchinson, a law professor at the University of Chicago.
When asked Wednesday about Specter's impending chairmanship, another Republican on the panel, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, did not offer a ringing endorsement.
"We'll have to see where he stands," said Cornyn, a close friend of Bush who worked to get all of the president's nominees through the Senate. "I'm hoping that he will stand behind the president's nominees. I'm intending to sit down and discuss with him how things are going to work. We want to know what he's going do and how things are going to work."
While Specter is a loyal Republican -- Bush endorsed him in a tight Pennsylvania GOP primary -- he routinely crosses party lines to pass legislation and counts a Democrat, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, as one of his closest friends.
A self-proclaimed moderate, he helped kill President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship. Specter called both nominees too extreme on civil rights issues. Sessions later became a Republican senator from Alabama and now sits on the Judiciary Committee with Specter.
Despite a bruising challenge from conservatives this year in Pennsylvania's GOP primary, Specter won re-election Tuesday by an 11-point margin by appealing to moderate Republicans and ticket-splitting Democrats, even as Pennsylvania chose Democrat John Kerry over Bush.
A former district attorney, Specter also bemoaned what he called the lack of any current justices comparable to legal heavyweights like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Thurgood Marshall, "who were giants of the Supreme Court."
"With all due respect to the (current) U.S. Supreme Court, we don't have one," he said.
Though he refused to describe the political leanings of the high court, Specter said he "would characterize myself as moderate; I'm in the political swim. I would look for justices who would interpret the Constitution, as Cardozo has said, reflecting the values of the people
Specter won PA for the same reason Kerry did. DemocRATic support from Philly and the 'Burgh.
Remember the Hispanic guy who was up for nomination and they blocked him. I think it was Kennedy who called Bush's appointees neanderthals. I think thats why Bush got such a big number of Hispanic votes. They don't care about race unless they can use it to their advantage. We need to turn the tables on them and everytime they insult Condi or say anything about Colin or block an Hispanic or black judge appointee, call them rascists and really get loud about it. Make it stick to them.
Time to ex-Specter-ate.
Frist is my Senator. I'm going to contact him today. Also Fred Thompson who is retired now but still has a lot of respect from Frist, he may be able to help.
Your emotion is understandable, but your hot air scorched my screen.
I've heard Hatch is as bad as Spector.
I agree with one exception. Judicial appointments are the most important issue we face, as these appointment will dictate the future of this country. They will determine if we will be subjects of the UN or citizens of a democracy.
We don't need an Ancient Scottish Law advocate, that squeaked by in this election, dictating to the president that won a mandate by the huge majority of the people in the United States.
Bush did Specter a huge favor by supporting him against Toomey. What did it get him? He lost Pennsylvania and now Specter is threatening to repay him by playing the part of Tom Daschle. This is why moderates are worthless.
"All we need is a Spanish Judge and Demorats can't attack. If they do, they will risk another 10% of their base. Either way we win."
Great conservative who was recently assigned as a District Judge of the Western District by our Pres is the Honorable Frank Montalvo. He is from Puerto Rico....
http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/gen_info/judges.asp
ANd what did that get him and America.... NOTHING BUT TROUBLE.
Every Senatorial election we have been working hard to replace Democrats with Republicans. We also need to start replacing bad Republicans with good Republicans. I think my Senators here are Lamar Alexander and Bill Frist. They are really good guys. But each state needs to do research on their Sen. and work to replace them at the state level. Even if Prez Bush is backing a bad Senator, the people can overcome that. We can work to get a good Sen. elected like we worked for Prez Bush. Its hard but it can be done.
I hope your proposals are doable.
I hope they are setting up the good guy/bad guy routine.
I wonder how they decide who will be the next head of the judiciary commision?
I'm a Spartan 77..........
I sent him an e-mail this morning.
Keep it short and pithy.
makes me glad I voted for Clymer.
The more conservative the judges the better.....we need to offset the liberals as much as possible.
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