Posted on 09/20/2005 6:18:43 AM PDT by kellynla
IT WILL BE A DAMNING INDICTMENT of petty partisanship in Washington if an overwhelming majority of the Senate does not vote to confirm John G. Roberts Jr. to be the next chief justice of the United States. As last week's confirmation hearings made clear, Roberts is an exceptionally qualified nominee, well within the mainstream of American legal thought, who deserves broad bipartisan support. If a majority of Democrats in the Senate vote against Roberts, they will reveal themselves as nothing more than self-defeating obstructionists.
Most Democrats have not indicated how they will vote later this week in the Judiciary Committee, or subsequently on the Senate floor. The angst expressed by some senators who feel caught between the pressure of liberal interest groups and their own impression of Roberts is comically overwrought. "I for one have woken up in the middle of the night thinking about it, being unsure how to vote," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
One reason Democratic senators are struggling to reach a verdict on the Roberts nomination is that President Bush has yet to announce his nominee for the second vacancy on the court. They are trying to figure out how their vote on Roberts will influence Bush's next choice. This is silly; Roberts ought to be considered on his own merits. But even if one treats this vote merely as a tactical game, voting against an impressive, relatively moderate nominee hardly strengthens the Democrats' leverage. If Roberts fails to win their support, Bush may justifiably conclude that he needn't even bother trying to find a justice palatable to the center. And if Bush next nominates someone who is genuinely unacceptable to most Americans, it will be harder for Democrats to point that out if they cry wolf over Roberts.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Broder yesterday in the WaPo, and now the LA Times today. I hope to God we don't get another Souter or Kennedy.
Even if the Donks vote for him, they will have revealed themselves as "nothing more than self-defeating obstructionists."
The Lefties couldn't find any dirt on this man so they'll wait for the next candidate to dig in their heels(pun intended LOL)!
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Oh, the Times ..they are a'changing:
Kinsley leaves the Times
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1484275/posts
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You mean like Supreme Court Justice Bork?
The other perspective on this is that the MSM toilet rags made a choice to side with the radical left. They have put all their chips there -- at the same time, they are worried about how radical and non-sensical the far-left Dims have become.
Trashing Roberts would be the MOST STUPID thing they can do -- the rags know it. Just like the highly calculating, power-centric Marxist Medusa knows it. He will be confirmed with the radical Dims hating every minute of it...
I agree. they know this battle is lost.
Fall back and prepare for the next nomination.
But they have no guarantee they will do better the next time.
I'm thinking of political things.
Evaluating O'Connor and Alberto Gonzalez, I'd say that on a 10 point conservative scale (10 high) that Gonzalez is a closer to a 10 than was O'Connor. I consider O'Connor to be a wishy-washy 5...maybe even a 4+ Gonzalez, though, is a 6- or maybe even a solid 6.
This concession to the president is made strategically. IF the president will use his 3rd choice for a strong conservative, then I'm willing to gamble. My reasons:
1. There is a real possibility of another vacancy on Scotus. Some are ill, some are aged, some might just be tired. Many, though, are Republican. The most eligible of them could be given the back-channel message that it's time for them to take one for the team and step down.
2. The midterm elections need something to fire up the base. A knockdown dragout fight over crucial conservative issues would do just that. That would turn out the base and conceivably lead to a filibuster proof Senate after Republican gains. OR...in order to avoid just such a thing, the Dems could back off and let the 3rd selection glide on through.
Given the above, I'd support the president naming Alberto Gonzalez to the Supreme Court with his 2nd selection. It has some possibilities for misfiring, but strategically it makes sense, AND Gonzalez is more to the right than is O'Connor....which is not hard to do. Gonzalez would get quick confirmation.
This would open the way for a quick vacancy if one of the remaining Scotus team-members would play with the team. This could be determined before this step is taken.
"Broder yesterday in the WaPo, and now the LA Times today. I hope to God we don't get another Souter or Kennedy."
The MSM is setting Roberts up as a moderate so the next candidate can be labeled too extreme.
Miquel Estrada please report to the green room.
One thing I got from the Roberts hearing. Roberts is going to call them as he sees them. If the ruling is against something the right wants, you at least can be sure Roberts weighed everything based on the Constitution and not the ACLU.
Marc Steyn says Schumer looks like an accountant for the Mafia. If Schumer votes "yes," he'll get whacked by the people who actually run the Dim party.
So am I. I have a nagging feeling that we're being given another Souter.
Let's see, Ann Coulter is against him and the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times are for him.
Wasn't that the case with John Kerry?
NARAL is gonna be PO'ed.
I refuse to believe or accept that conservative ideas and beliefs must be hidden and that we must rely on innuendo and faith when a candidate is introduced. Nobody had a problem with Ginsburg knowing full well that she was liberal. Hasn't it been proved that conservative ideas win every time they are tried?
I hear Roberts will be more like Kennedy than Souter. Either way, George W. Bush betrayed conservatives by nominating Roberts. Ann Coulter was right to be worried.
Looks like a Souter or a Kennedy is what we're going to get, because if the left thought Roberts was a Thomas or Scalia, they'd be going all out to destroy him. This is NOT a good thing.
A stopped clock is accurate twice a day. The rest of the time it is wrong. That is my view of these dinosaur media newspapers.
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