Didn’t he also nominate Alito to the bench? Was that to appease the far left as well?
“Didn’t he also nominate Alito to the bench? Was that to appease the far left as well?”
Remember, George W. Bush’s choice for what is now the Alito seat was Harriett Miers who served as his White House counsel. He nominated her to fill the seat on October 3, 2005. The nomination quickly ran into opposition from across the political spectrum. Conservatives were particular critics of the nomination. In almost all quarters she was considered a lightweight with no judicial experience and an unclear judicial philosophy. The opposition was so intense, it quickly became clear she could not be confirmed by the Senate. On October 27, 2005 Miers asked Bush to withdraw her nomination.
After failing in nominating a mediocre candidate, who was likely a moderate, Bush under great pressure from the conservative wing of the party nominated Samuel Alito.
The point here is, nominating a solid conservative was not a priority of Bush. Roberts and Miers were his picks. Alito was forced on him by GOP conservatives.