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.
And Terri Schiavo's death was probably that last shovelful of dirt on his political grave.
I'm drawing on memory - which is fallible - but I think Barry Goldwater was opposed to abortion until be married his second (and liberal) wife. After that he "grew" (as the liberals say.)
I second that Terri Schiavo reference. As I put it at the time, Jeb's chances of ever becoming President died with her.
He first said it in an interview in the early 80's, he was also opposed to the religious right from the time the beginning. He NEVER was conservative on social issues, his conservativism was primarily limited to strong defense, smaller government and fighting communism.
By the end of his life, he was BELOVED by the Liberals.
Probably; but let's not forget, that his wife does NOT want him to run for/be president.
How many times does Jeb have to say he's not running?
Does he have a history of saying he's not running and then run?
Not to mention Alberto calling the minatemen vigilantes.
Not to mention Alberto calling the minatemen vigilantes. I lisented to this clown on radio with Laura Ingram. How can you guys support a president who hires an open borders attorney general. Vote constitution party before it is to late.
Gonzalez will probably be appointed to take Stevens' place when the time comes.
Sadly that is indeed correct. You can see plenty of it here on this thread with the Schiavo comments.
Miranda is a Conservative hero. God bless him.
What I don't understand is .. Jeb is term-limited out so he's not running for anything .. and Jeb has already said he's not running for President in '08 - so what's with this threat business .. it sounds juvenile.
Unfortunately we didn't see what they were up to until the mid 1970's, and it has taken us until now to be able to match their organizational capabilities. On the Bork nomination, our side was simply unprepared for the smear campaign that was waged against Bork, and it was the usually suspects on our side that got wet feet and dumped Bork (Sen. Arlen Spector) Then after Bork, we still weren't prepared for what they tried to do to Thomas.
No time in our history can anyone say we have waged smear campaigns like the democrats have and to be honest, I'm glad we haven't. The Democrats will ruin our Justice system if they are allowed to get away with this Bullshit they have been pulling for the past 25 years. What Conservative Judge wants to see his reputation dragged through the mud, for that matter what Judge of any stripe wants this kind of smearing. The Senate needs to understand that elections have consequences and after the many horrible decisions that have come down form the SCOTUS lately, they will sign their own death certificate if they try to smear a Judge who is an originalist or strict constructionist. I believe last weeks "Takings" decision will cost the Democrats big time in 2006. Anyone who would defend that decision will be voted out, and considering that it was the Liberals and O'Connor who were in the majority, they had better watch their step.
The Liberals went nuts over this. And GWB simply said that the ABA had become politicized and that he would rely on a team of his own Lawyers for recommendations for possible candidates.
George W. Bush has been strong on his Judicial nominations and the main reason is the ABA is no longer the organization who does the recommending. This is how GHWB was tricked into Souter, and the same can be said for O'Connor. Reagan expressed to those around him that he wanted to appoint a woman to the SCOTUS, they had a hard time finding one, that's why O'Connor came from a low level Court in Arizona. The ABA recommended her
Unfortunately, we see it on many other threads as well. You'd think that most people here, would know the facts; but they don't.
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