According to the Washington Post, “Democrats have decided that unless there is an unexpected development in the weeks ahead, they will not launch a major fight to block the Supreme Court nomination of John G. Roberts Jr.”
This is a smart move politically, I think, and will give the Democrats much needed credibility should another vacancy prompt a far worse candidate. More importantly however, it is the right thing to do. So far (and I highly stress those words) there has been nothing in SC nominee Roberts’ past that has been made public that makes me shutter or question his appropriateness for the bench.
There has been a lot of media attention on the fact that SC nominee Roberts once wrote about an “abortion tragedy” and some have taken issue with the fact that he once argued “that the Constitution prohibits such a moment of silent reflection - or even silent 'prayer' - seems indefensible.”
However, in context, both of those things are perfectly legitimate positions, even if one disagrees with them. Far less widely reported was that he said Roe v. Wade was “settled law” when he was nominated for the US Court of Appeals.
After all, Roberts may be deeply pro-life, and pro-school prayer, but that does not necessarily mean that he will consistently uphold those positions against the Constitution and legal precedent. I for one, would not want someone rejected out of hand simply because he was personally against the death penalty or found no harm in medical marijuana.
Perhaps people’s initial skepticism has far less to do with Roberts and far more to do with Bush, who has consistently acted as Republican party leader FIRST and President of the United States only second. This president has appointed some of the most conservative judges in history (this is not hyperbole either) and I think many people were looking for his telltale hyper-partisanship when appointing Roberts.
Conservative are right to be concerned, however, for it seems that Bush has picked a genuinely intelligent choice, and although I look forward to learning more about his judicial philosophy and what he believed the role of the SC should be in the American system, I also look forward to a fair confirmation process that might serve as an example for the future.
1 comment:
I think what the left and even some moderates fear most is a Scalia-ization of the court. The thing is, however, that Roberts and Scalia are very different. While Scalia might be a good jurist, with an interesting (or regressive, depending on how you see things) outlook, he is first and foremost an ideologue. Roberts might lean conservative, but unlike Scalia, he is first and foremost a jurist. And from the looks of things, a highly accomplished jurist.
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