[foreshadowed at waco]

3 Appelate judges who stay appelate judges may not tip the power but the appelate bench is where they choose SC justices from...if the Democrats approve the vote on these 3 for this court then they can hardly vote against one of them if a spot opens on the SCOTUS...I can see GW moving Brown up to the Supreme Court when Thomas or Scalia take over Rehnquist's spot...I love it when a plan comes together.

[mwl1]

Brown would be an ideal nominee for the USSC but probably not until later in Bush's term if another vacancy arises.

My guess is that Rehnquist will retire, and Bush will nominate Scalia for chief justice, and backfill the Scalia vacancy with a confirmable moderate-conservative. Atty General Gonzales is a good bet; he would enjoy strong Hispanic support.

A later USSC vacancy to Rogers Brown. What are the RATS gonna do, filibuster a black female for a USSC appointment heading into a presidential election year? I think not.

[NonValueAdded]

I wish I shared your enthusiasm but does the phrase "time in grade" mean anything to you? I think the RATs could easily make the case that while they grudgingly placed the 3 on the appellate bench, they have not yet been "seasoned" at that level and do not have a track record that would allow full vetting for a SCOTUS "promotion." Now I'm not saying that this applies to the 3 judges per se, just that a reasonable argument could be put forth along those lines.