Josh Marshall: Rehnquist retirement a good thing (and I agree)

[Goldmund]

<snip>
Here's my reasoning.

To the extent that there was a logic to kicking the filibuster can down the road until a Supreme Court nomination came up, it was that Democrats would only stand to gain by more public attention, both to the extremism of a potential nominee and the rule-breaking of banning the filibuster using an obviously-phoney constitutional pretext. I think that's a decent theory of the situation. And for better or worse, it's the one they went with. So they might as well play it out.

Secondly, this battle will be played out as much in the nation's newspaper editorial board rooms and among the glitz commentators as anywhere else. The best argument that the Dems can make is that President Bush is in a loose sense trying to pack the Court, trying to push the Court decisively to the right by appointing an activist and an ideologue. It seems to me that that argument is much stronger if he's appointing two of nine than one of nine.

Perhaps another way to put this is that I think it would be much easier for President Bush to push through one hard-right nominee now and another next spring or next summer than it will be for him to push twice at once.
</snip>

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_07_03.php#006029


(Of course, this is contingent upon the rumor actually being valid.)

[wryter2000]

1. I tend to agree

Perhaps another way to put this is that I think it would be much easier for President Bush to push through one hard-right nominee now and another next spring or next summer than it will be for him to push twice at once.

Replacing Rehnquist with a rw nutjob isn't much of a change. If think we may end up with one rw nutjob and one more reasonable nominee. If that happens, Dems can point out "We're not against anyone * puts up. We confirmed A, but B is too extreme."

[KharmaTrain]

2. We're Seeing Them Eat Their Own Already

Bringing Thompson in to cover Frist's red ass is a symbol things aren't doing well in the "big tent". His job is to try to finesse the fundies who won't settle for anything less than a Roy Moore.

The other day I posted about an email I got from some wingnut suggesting Janice Rogers Brown.

Almost every special interest group has been promised something by this regime when it came to this selection (or others)...it's been a decade in the brewing since Repugnicans have had a pick and the line forms at the right at to who is owed the most and should influence this selection.

A Rehnquist resignation isn't a bad thing at all. We expected this seat to come open and it's a right wing vote anyway. This is more a game that is starting to fester on the other side of the aisle.

Remember, they have their own history and demons at play here. There's the Souter fiasco...or at least for them. That's their worst nightmare...a stealth candidate who sails through that can come back to bite them (Stewart and Stevens are other nightmares).

I expect Gonzalez is all but Dubya's choice...and Thompson is there to shoehorn him in...first on the right and then glad-handing his old pals Joe Biden and Lieberman. The other choice...well...this is where O'Connor's sudden retirement (and her decision to stay on until a replacement is chosen) becomes a far bigger fight within the Repugnican party.

Josh, as always, has great insight. Yes, no matter whose chosen, the seeds of "extremism" are already planted in many minds. Schaivo did a lot more than we still realize. The drip, drip, drip of Iraq and scandals now make this regime suspect at anything and everything they say.

It'll be an interesting confirmation process no matter if it's one or two...and I trust Senator Reid already has a plan to play this smart.

Peace...