It appears Bush is set to announce his new Supreme Court appointment tomorrow.
Speculation has ultra-conservative judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. a likely choice. Alito is nicknamed "Scalito" and represents the neocon wet dream. The other two names floated about, Michael Luttig and Alice M. Batchelder look equally as appalling. Now that Bush seems poised to ignore the calls for a moderate and stuff an arch-conservative into the court, the question now is are the Democrats ready to fight?
Fast forward to tomorrow and assume Bush goes ahead with his nomination of one of these judges. Each of the potential nominees are well know entities to the neocons and will be greeted favorably. The Democrats need to
frame this person immediately and in
the strongest terms. No fluffy diplomatic language meant to convey a sense of fairness. No photo-op handshakes with shit kicking grins. No, "I will not pre-judge this nominee" bull. No, "this person has excellent credentials and a sound intellect" rhetoric. Right out of the gate, from the get go, Democrats need to argue that this nomination represents a radical agenda that doesn't mirror middle America.
The media will take its cues from Democratic reaction, and in turn public perception will evolve. It is absolutely essential that Democrats speak with a unified voice immediately following the nomination. It is also key to use words like filibuster, completely abandoning any sense of a diplomatic approach. This is a President with abhorrent support, at his most weakest and he chooses to nominate a radical- the gloves are off.
Look at these options:
Alito, 55, studied at Princeton and Yale, and has sat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, based in Philadelphia, since 1990. Nicknamed "Scalito" by some who compare him to Scalia, the high court's prime conservative intellectual force, Alito has built a record as an incisive skeptic of liberal constitutional theory.
He voted to uphold a Pennsylvania law that required a woman to notify her husband before an abortion -- a law rejected by the Supreme Court -- and wrote a decision upholding a city holiday display that included a creche and menorah as well as secular symbols.
Luttig, 51, a graduate of Washington and Lee and the University of Virginia, has been since 1991 a conservative mainstay of the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond. Like Alito, he is known for his sharp intellect and occasional skirmishes with fellow conservatives over principle. He wrote a ruling striking down part of the Violence Against Women Act that allowed women to sue attackers, sided with the government in terrorist-detention cases and initially upheld a Virginia law restricting what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions before later striking it down, citing Supreme Court precedent.
Batchelder, 61, another graduate of Virginia's law school, has served on the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit since 1992, after six years as a district judge. She voted to uphold Ohio's late-term abortion ban and voted against the University of Michigan's affirmative action program. She also sat on a case involving Wal-Mart even though her husband owned company stock, for which she later admitted error -- an issue that initially caused White House concern about nominating her.
Yes this is a conservative President, with a conservative congress making a conservative pick. But, in the here and now Bush is a crippled leader and has no wiggle room with the American public. I want harsh language, I want some outrage that he would pick an ultra conservative, given the timing. This is arrogance at its worst and also an opportunity for Democrats to look the loyal opposition. Presidential privilege doesn't translate into intentionally divisive policy.
If there is a photo-op with Harry Reid and this nominee, I want stern looks and awkwardness, like when the Prime Minister of India and Musharraf get together. We always talk about "political capital" as though it were some finite measurement. Well here we go- lets blow our load once and for all. Its line in the sand time, are we ready to fight?
