In the wake of recent news events I felt compelled to write this opinion regarding the recent nomination of John Roberts Jr. to the federal bench. At this point your are probably expecting an analysis of Roberts and what his appointment means. But that is not what I want to talk about. Instead, I want to talk about the timeliness of this appointment and how it is intended to serve as a distraction in order to draw our attentions away from the more important issues. As far as I am concerned, the key issues that the country should be focusing on right now is the criminal activity of this administration suggested by the Downing Street Memo and the Plame case.
More below the fold...
This administration (and by extension anyone in congress who supports this administration) has cleverly used distraction through the past few years in order to quell discention and scandal. We saw how the outcome of the 9/11 commission was watered down enough so the country could focus on the Swift Boat Liars. We saw how high energy prices and a poor employment picture gave way to the Social Security debate. And now we are seeing the appointment of a conservative judge taking the front page away from a set of scandals that are quite probably evidence of impeachable offenses. Yes, this administration is a master of deception and distraction. What I want to say is let's not fall for it again.
Sure, Bush nominated a conservative for the court whose views are questionable. Anyone who is shocked or surprised by this has not been paying attention to politics in America for the past 20 years. We knew this was coming. We also know that one judge won't change very much about the court. O'Connor was a conservative (albeit a moderate one) so all Bush is accomplishing here is the replacement of one conservative with another. And O'Connor was not so moderate at the time she was appointed. In 1994, Clinton nominated Stephen Breyer to replace Harry Blackmun which shifted the court seat from conservative to liberal. Prior to that (in 1992) Roe v Wade was upheld by 5-4, so the worst case one could think right now for Roe v Wade is another 5-4 vote in favor of upholding. And if Rehnquist dies (because he refuses to retire), then an anti-roe-v-wade vote would again be replaced by another anti-roe-v-wade vote so the court will end up in the same balance of roe-v-wade that is was in 1992 when it was upheld by a 5-4 vote. I believe that the administration is aware of this. I also believe that many republicans are aware that if Roe-v-Wade is overturned then they will likely lose a talking point on the campaign trail because that battle will have already been won and voters are more interested in hearing about current battles. So let's stop bickering about roe-v-wade and this nomination. Nothing significant is going to happen to roe-v-wade in the near future.
But what very likely will happen is that while we are worrying about roe-v-wade, the pressure will subside from this administration. And while Rove and company go free after infractions that are arguably treasonous, this administration will continue their assault on the environment and workers rights because we were too busy focusing on a single SCOTUS nomination while they went to work under the hood. That is how this administration works. That is how republicans work. They don't really care if they win or lose this one. They just want us talking about it enough to forget the real issues. Let's not let it happen.
Remember, there is already enough evidence to warrent an investigation and a trial to determine if Rove and Scooter Libby broke a federal law. Bush is currently protecting these people which makes him culpable in my opinion. This federal law was broken so that they could doctor intelligence enough to force the country into a loosing war. Our soldiers are stuck in Iraq without the body armor they need to protect themselves. And when they come back injured they will find that Congress neglected to fund veterans benefits so they will not have access to adequate treatment. This is an administration that hates America and wants to destroy it from the inside. The only way they can accomplish that is if we are not watching what they are doing. John Roberts is just another link in a long chain of distractions to attempt to ensure that we are not looking. Forget it. He is going to get confirmed and he will one day vote against roe-v-wade, but it probably really won't matter. Bush has at most one more appointment unless Rehnquist can hold out another 2 years (no one leaves in an election year). We need to keep the pressure on this administration about real issues so that the next president will be a Democrat and we will have a liberal appointment at the next vacancy.
Keep Valerie Plame on the front page.
Keep DSM on the front page.
Keep Iraq on the front page.
Keep high oil prices on the front page.
You get the picture....