Posted on 07/10/2005 7:44:34 PM PDT by Crackingham
Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, suggested on Sunday that President Bush could name Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring from the Supreme Court, to the position of chief justice if it opens up.
"I think it would be very tempting if the president said to Justice O'Connor, 'You could help the country now,' " Mr. Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania and a pivotal player in any confirmation hearings, said in an interview on the CBS program "Face the Nation." "She has received so much adulation that a confirmation proceeding would be more like a coronation, and she might be willing to stay on for a year or so."
Although Mr. Specter's seeming endorsement of the idea was highly speculative - Justice O'Connor, 75, has announced her retirement, while Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, has not stepped down - it was the clearest of his several recent signals that he plans to steer his own course as he oversees hearings on a replacement for Justice O'Connor, independent of the president and of his party's conservative base.
Many social conservatives have denounced Justice O'Connor's votes on abortion, sodomy laws and public displays of religion. Hailing her resignation as a long-awaited chance to turn the court to the right, they have reminded Mr. Bush of his repeated praise for the court's conservative anchor, Justice Antonin Scalia.
Instead, Mr. Specter, who said he was not making a recommendation to the president, echoed a chorus of Democrats who have lauded Justice O'Connor since her retirement. Speaking on the same program, Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, readily assented. "I think it would be a very doable thing," he responded to the idea of enticing Justice O'Connor out of retirement to become the new chief.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
What a moron. There's really nothing more to say.
Listen, I dont want to make fun of the guy, but didnt O'Conner already retire?
For a minute I thought this was scrappleface.
Is there something about Republican Senators and TV interviews that makes that Senator's brain turn to mush or make a big fart?
Spector, shut up! Ditto to Sen. McPain.
You could say "what a RINO moron"!
Not only is Arlen Sphincter a RINO, a Marxist in disguise and a traitor to his party's agenda, his a total idiot. O'Connor probably is LHAO as you read this. Even she thinks Sphincter must be a nutcase.
By "pivotal player" I presume they mean he's the pivot man for the DemocRATS.
Just nominate Ann Coulter and let the fun begin.
Wow.
Every time he comes out with something like this, I think "he can't get any dumber."
And every time, he proves me wrong.
From what I have heard, O'Connor's husband has early symptoms of Alzheimer's, and she wants to go back to Arizona and take care of him. So although Arlen can wish and hope, I don't think it's going to happen.
Prayers for Justice O'Connor and her husband.
Specter might be getting senile. His health is deteriorating. Time for him to retire.
Sure glad Bush backed him over Twomey
"She has received so much adulation that a confirmation proceeding would be more like a coronation, and she might be willing to stay on for a year or so."
A coronation would be the most appropriate installation ceremony for the leader of the true rulers of the land - the imperial judiciary - the one branch of government with no real check on its authority since Congress and the exectuive branches have abdicated their responsiblity in that regard.
What a moron. There's really nothing more to say.Ditto.
Robert Bork for Chief Justice.
"Specter might be getting senile. His health is deteriorating. Time for him to retire."
Thanks to our party leadership, he was just reelected to a 6 year term. If he retires (resigns), the Democratic governor of PA gets to appoint his successor.
Rumor is that Specter asked Rendell (the governor) to appoint a Republican (undoubtedly a "compromise" RINO) if his health fails, but Rendell refused.
This does really sound like a joke. Justice OConnor already said she wants to retire. Her husband is ailing. She is 75 and has served 24 years. Why would she suddenly say I changed my mind, I will stay on the court?? I think maybe the senator's medications are affecting his mind.
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