American Street had this wonderful piece of tactical advice for the Senate Democrats, and I fully concur: get the Senate Dems to support Orrin Hatch when Chief Justice Reinquist retires. Sound Crazy? Well, listen to the reasoning, below the fold.
That's why I'd like to see Reid, Leahy, and Kennedy leak that they'd support Orrin Hatch the moment Renquist either announces his retirement or dies. ... The Christian Right would vigorously oppose Hatch because of his support of abortion in cases of rape, incest, or where the health or life of the mother is in danger (the Mormon stance). A fierce battle would cause a rift between Mormons and conservative evangelicals which could pay dividends to Democratic candidates in western emerging swing states like Arizona and Nevada.
It would also buy Democrats some moral high ground by deflecting some of the charges of obstructionism that will inevitably be made once the filibustering begins (I'm assuming that the nuclear option won't be employed). Pundits on the left could always point to the Democrats willingness to support the conservative Hatch when such charges are made.
On the off chance that Bush calls the bluff and actually appoints Hatch, we'd end up with a Chief Justice who is far more liberal than the current one and certainly more liberal than the names I've seen floated as possible replacements. Hatch has always portrayed himself to be being more conservative than he actually is. Indeed, many in the Christian right consider him to be a closet liberal. A past chair of the Utah Gay and Lesbian Democrats once told me that they'd always endorse him because he was very good on gay issues. With the independence that comes with a lifetime appointment, Hatch would be able to be Hatch. He might not become a Souter, but he'd certainly be closer to Souter than Renquist.
If we can successfully pressure the Senate Dems to successfully pull this off, then we win a major battle in the Supreme Court arena without ever firing a shot. Spread the word. This is a genius piece of strategy.