Posted on 07/03/2005 8:02:04 PM PDT by wagglebee
f President Bush chooses Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that might well doom the GOP Senate incumbents, those on the religious right say, by infuriating the party's fervent, evangelical grassroots, Newsweek reports in the current issue.
"If the president is foolish enough to nominate Al Gonzales, what he will find is a divided base that will take it out on candidates in 2006," says Manuel Miranda, who heads a coalition of conservative groups called Third Branch Conference.
A former legal counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Miranda went on to threaten retribution against Bush's brother Jeb, should he decide to run for president.
"We're not Republican patsies," he tells Newsweek. "Jeb Bush can go sell insurance."
Newsweek Chief Political Correspondent Howard Fineman and Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Debra Rosenberg preview the battle ahead for O'Connor's replacement in the July 11 cover, "O'Connor's Odyssey" (on newsstands Monday, July 4).
"This is probably the most significant Supreme Court resignation and nomination we'll see in our lifetimes," says Jay Sekulow, counsel of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice. His counterpart at the liberal Alliance for Justice agreed. "The stakes are now enormous," says Nan Aron.
Also in the cover package, Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas and Contributing Editor Stuart Taylor Jr. recount the legacy of O'Connor and her years on the bench, where she was the classic swing vote in countless 5 to 4 decisions.
Newsweek also lists the likely contenders for O'Connor's successor: Edith Brown Clement, a Fifth Circuit judge; John Roberts, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.; J. Michael Luttig, a Fourth Circuit judge; J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a Fourth Circuit judge; Janice Rogers Brown, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. and Gonzales.
nominate Garza.
If the President nominates Gonzales, it will be because he knows him better than Manuel Miranda does.
The 'Rats or gonna filibuster no matter who it is, so I just hope Bush nominates a true conservative who is fairly young (under 60 for certain, preferably under 50).
The Republican rank and file understand the importance of this nomination - they will be undermined by the cowardice of the Senate Republicans, who will not forbid a filibuster. When dems return to Senate power, judicial filibuster will be the first "right" of the minority they will eliminate.
How old is Emilio Garza?
Gonzalez won't be the nominee, because he would have to recuse himself from too many cases which started while he was Counsel to the President.
Of course, when the President picks someone other than Gonzalez, these groups will tout their "influence" in picking a SC nominee.
Pbbt! I don't care what these people say.
Alberto Gonzales just became Atty. Gen. Let him stay where he is and nominate someone more conservative. Al is not very well liked by Bush's conservative base because of his views on abortion and Affirmative Action.
Very lost cause.
I think his handling of the Terri Schiavo situation probably ended any real chance he ever had. Moreoever, it is customary for a second term president to NOT openly support any candidate in the nomination process and I don't think America would really accept the notion of someone succeeding their brother to the presidency, the whole "dynasty" idea disturbs a lot of people.
Bush will not nominate Gonzales because too much of his base is against him.
After Souter and Kennedy, the evangelicals are not disposed to trust anybody on the grounds that the president "knows" him and "knows" he'll be good for the cause. They want a solid paper trail of conservative jurisprudence.
Garza is 58.
The President did not know Souter or Kennedy. That was the problem. They based those nominations on their judicial records, which are inherently misleading. You can't tell from his record how a judicial nominee will act on the Supreme Court because he's never had the opportunity to exercise the power that the Supreme Court wields. You need to appoint someone who you know so well that you can tell how he thinks.
With Scalia's refusal to reverse wrongly decided decisions, O'Connor's replacement is not as critical as some might believe. The damage has been done. We have no property rights, congress cannot pass an unconstitutional law, Judaeo-Christian religion has been abolished, etc.
Which decision of Scalia's are you talking about?
While Jeb Bush has been a good Governor for our state..., there is NO WAY I am supporting a "Bush Dynasty" in this country!
Somewhere in the last few days I read a short list of nominees and Gonzales wasn't on it. They're just blowing smoke. This way they can say they scared Bush off this nomination.
Wouldn't happen. Even the Kennedy's couldn't make the dynasty thing fly. And they had the adoring press behind them in a major way in those days.
Gonzalez won't be the nominee,
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