Posted on 07/07/2005 6:31:52 PM PDT by ovrtaxt
With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
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For the story behind the story...
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Thursday, July 7, 2005 2:34 p.m. EDT
Novak: Bush's Gonzales Support Frightening
Charging that President Bush may be an obstacle to appointing a conservative Supreme Court justice, columnist Robert Novak chastised the president for his remarks defending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Novak fears Bush's remarks will be seen as a signal that the president intends to name him to fill the vacated seat of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Noting that Sen. Kennedy has managed to establish in the media's warped minds a new standard for "mainstream conservatism" by citing the liberal O'Connor as a genuine conservative, Novak wrote that by contrast, the president "has put forth 'friendship' as a qualification for being named to the high court."
According to Novak, Both Kennedy's and Bush's statements left conservative Republicans, who he recalls have spent more than a decade planning for this moment to change the balance of power on the Supreme Court, reeling from blows delivered by two dissimilar political leaders.
As a result, Novak wrote, it's not Kennedy who is the bigger obstacle to a conservative court, but the president himself.
"While Kennedy's ploy presents a temporary problem, Bush's stance could be fatal," according to Novak. "The Right's morale was devastated by the president's comments in a USA Today telephone interview published on the newspaper's front page Tuesday: 'Al Gonzales is a great friend of mine. When a friend gets attacked, I don't like it.'"
To Novak's politically sensitive ears, that sounded as if Bush, whom he called a stubborn man, might go ahead and nominate Gonzales "in the face of deep and broad opposition from the president's own political base."
Added to the mix is the strong probability that ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist is on the verge of announcing his retirement.
Such a scenario may give Bush the idea he has political cover to appoint Gonzalez.
As Novak puts it, Bush could "name one justice no less conservative than Rehnquist, and name Gonzales, whose past record suggests he would replicate retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on abortion and possibly other social issues."
If Bush would do this, Novak says, it would be a massive defeat for conservatives because "the present ideological orientation of the court would be unchanged, which would suit the Left just fine."
Novak also noted that O'Connor was not considered a conservative when she was nominated 24 years ago, and writes that "the worst fears about her were realized by her consistently liberal positions on social issues. With Democrats now setting a new standard for conservatism, Republican senators could only bite their lips and praise her."
Novak conceded that Gonzales "would not exactly be another O'Connor, but he is still considered a disaster by Republican conservatives."
"Gonzales trial balloons were shot down on the right, but that has not stopped leaks from the White House." If a Rehnquist vacancy now is thrown into the mix, Novak asked, would Bush be tempted to temporize by naming one conservative and one non-conservative?
"Consequently, Bush's USA Today interview has been a source of intense anxiety on the right. Typically, the president did not defend Gonzales on his merits but with outrage that anybody would dare criticize his friend. That reflects a general schoolboy attitude that is losing the president support from fellow Republicans and conservatives."
for a judge who honors the Constitution. Gonzales stated in 2003 that the Constitution 'means what the Court says it means' or something to that effect.
No way Bush will nominate Gonzalez. He is just defending his friend, as any of us would.
bookmarking
I believe that's the exact words....but you need it to be put in context with the rest of the lecture (speech) or whatever.
Following in his dad's footsteps.
Let's hope he doesn't.
It riles me that Gonzalez is/was a member of a "Mexican American" organization in Houston that is affiliated with the National Council of La Raza. That is an extreme organization (albeit not as extreme as Aztlan), that DOES NOT reflect the values of the President I thought I voted for. It sure as hell doesn't reflect MY values (not that any of the Hispanic groups do).
And to those who say, "Try being a Hispanic politician without belong to those groups," that is pure BS.
I unfortunately wasn't paying attention during his confirmation hearings, but I want to know if he ever answered for these leftist "Chicano" affiliations.
I know of a certain female United States senator from New York who would be jubilant if President Bush selected Gonzales.
May I quote you?
No one knows yet who the President might select. Whoever it has an uphill battle. Although Harry Reid said he could live with Gonzales, That doesnt say much for Gonzales.
The fact that Gonzales is a "friend" of the President's is of absolutely no relevance to the country, and he came across as just a little arrogant by implying that his personal friendship was something that should make us hesitant to criticize Gonzales.
This is sensible. Bush has stated on a number of occasions what he thinks crucial for a good Supreme Court Justice. He will likely get 3 chances.
Replacing O'Connor can help a great deal. In replacing Renquist it's vital to do no harm.
We are likely to lose Ginsburg or Stevens in Bush's term. Here we have a chance for true improvement. Bush knows what is needed. Let's hope he is up to the challenge.
Did a little web searching. It looks like those words are credited to Breyer.
Why does Newmax spend so much time publishing "stories" about other people's stories and columns? Why not just publish Novak's column, rather than write an "article" about the column? It seems like every Newsmax story I see is just a rehash of a real news story or column from somewhere else.
I agree.
One thing about Bush: he does what he says he's going to do. And he has said he wants an originalist. All of this campaigning for Gonzalez in the MSM will be for naught...
Which to a lot of people who are either very stupid or very dense it means President Bush has already planned to make Gonzalez the next Chief Justice. They don't seem to realize that President Bush is a man who has a very high value on friendship and doesn't appreciate all the personal attacks, lies, and slander certain so called "conservatives" are spewing about Gonzales.
The one that is probably ticking him off the most is that Gonzales is a member of "La Raza" which is nothing but a flat out lie made up by a bunch of people who can't get past the fact that Gonzales is Hispanic.
When the public interest is at stake, personal loyalties have to take a back seat. How much corruption, incompetence, or worse, has been allowed to continue and wreak havoc because someone who could have done something about it decided that loyalty to a person was more important than a conscientious regard for his duty to the public?
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