July 20, 2005
By Wes Allison and Anita Kumar
St. Petersburg Times (FL)
WASHINGTON - With the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday night, President Bush thrilled Republican senators and the social conservatives who form the base of the Republican Party.
But he did so without inflaming the Democratic senators who ultimately hold the key to Roberts' confirmation. They promised a thorough scrubbing but never suggested the judge is unfit for the nation's highest court.
Although Roberts likely faces a bruising confirmation battle, and liberal interest groups were quick to criticize him as hostile to civil rights and abortion rights, Democratic senators were more cautious and deferential.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who was unusually muted, promised not to jump to conclusions. He noted flatly that Roberts "has suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry."
"The Senate must review Judge Roberts's record to determine if he has a demonstrated commitment to the core American values of freedom, equality and fairness," Reid said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who also serves on the committee, said they expect Roberts to answer a wide range of questions about his beliefs, and that no issue should be off-limits.
"No one is entitled to a free pass for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court," said Leahy, who is scheduled to meet with Roberts today.
At just 50 years old, a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court means Roberts could influence American policy for decades to come. But he has spent only two years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, hardly enough time to build an extensive record on divisive social and legal issues he'll face as a Supreme Court justice.
"His views will affect a generation of Americans, and it is his obligation during the confirmation process to let the American people know those views," said Schumer, who is likely to lead any Democratic opposition to Roberts. "The burden is on the nominee to the Supreme Court to prove he is worthy, not on the Senate to prove he is unworthy."
Republican Senators, by contrast, were effusive in their praise of Roberts. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., recalled that some Democrats, including Schumer, opposed his appointment to the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2003, but he was confirmed easily. "He just won people over. No doubt that he was a serious intellect," Sessions said.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, criticized the Democrats' talk of starting from scratch when reviewing Roberts' career and legal views since he was already confirmed once.
"I hope what we're hearing is not just an excuse for delay and obstruction," Cornyn said. "He is a known quantity."
Supreme Court nominees get far more scrutiny than appellate court judges, however, and the stakes are much higher. Roberts would replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate who has provided a key swing vote on some of the most contentious social issues before the court during the past decade, from states rights to abortion to the separation of church and state.
Conservative and liberal groups alike plan to spend millions on a national ad campaign in hopes of influencing the confirmation process, and they wasted no time last night in trading shots.
Jan LaRue, chief counsel and head of legal affairs for the Concerned Women for America, a Christian political advocacy group, described Roberts "as an originalist in interpreting the Constitution," comparable to two of the high court's most conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
At 8:03 p.m., moments after national news networks began announcing Roberts' nomination, the conservative-leaning Progress for America sent out its first release lauding the pick and pledging to spend $18-million to help ensure his confirmation. Within two hours, the group had set up a Web site on Roberts' behalf, www.JudgeRoberts.com
The liberal People for the American Way and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights answered a few minutes later, accusing Roberts of being right of the mainstream.
In Orlando, the head of the Florida Judicial Confirmation Network, a statewide coalition of 22 business, evangelical, property rights and other mostly conservative groups, said members were excited about Roberts. "I think our whole entire coalition is going to be enthusiastically supporting him," executive director John Dowless said.
Republicans praised Bush for consulting Senate leaders before choosing Roberts, but some Democrats complained he didn't reach out more. Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat, said he was unaware of any meetings beyond one at the White House last week with leaders of the Senate and the Judiciary Committee.
Whether Roberts is confirmed may depend on an informal group of centrist Republicans and Democrats, known as the Gang of 14, who recently struck a deal to approve several of the president's most contentious appellate court nominees.
Click here for full story
|
