Am I crazy to think this may be the best we could do re Bush and

[Pirate Smile]

the Supreme court?

I know I will get a lot of "Hell Yes" responses but considering the current President and the Senate :shrug: .

Alberto Gonzales for the Supreme Court. The RW Dobson fundies will freak.

Either Bush nominates Gonzales to Chief Justice, or puts Scalia there and nominates Gonzales for SC Justice.

"Conservatives want Bush aide kept off court

By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — With legal and political insiders nearly certain President Bush soon will get to pick a new Supreme Court justice, conservatives close to the White House are quietly trying to derail the potential nomination of a top aide to the president.


Many conservatives believe White House counsel Alberto Gonzales is too liberal to replace the next retiring Supreme Court justice.

-snip-

But conservatives inside and outside the administration have long suspected that Gonzales, 47, does not agree with them on key social policy issues — namely, their opposition to abortion and affirmative action. So when the Bush administration didn't go as far as many GOP hard-liners wanted in opposing the University of Michigan's affirmative action program this month, some blamed Gonzales.

-snip-
But Gonzales successfully argued for a legal stance in which the White House is opposing the Michigan program, but is not pushing for an end to affirmative action. That angered some conservatives, who are citing Gonzales' vote as a Texas judge against a law requiring teenagers seeking abortions to notify their parents — without exception.

Conservative columnist Robert Novak focused on those Gonzales moves in a syndicated article last week. Novak questioned whether Gonzales deserves a seat on the high court and said conservatives were warning Bush not to commit a "grave political blunder," as they believe Bush's father did in appointing David Souter to the court in 1990. Souter has turned out to be a liberal on the current court.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-01-26-gonzales-usat_x.htm

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Considering his other likely choices, Gonzales might not be so

bad.

He, at one time, called Patricia Owen an 'activist judge' who disregarded precedent and ruled by her ideology on the TX court. In truth, the only negatives I know about him are his being a corporate shill and his writing the torture memo. And being a corporate shill is par for the course for a mainstream conservative judge.

Anybody know any worse on him?

[LittleClarkie]

9. At least Gonzalez would be better than Owen

At least he could look at her and say "activist judge."

But it's like deciding between gonorrhea and syphilis.

[Pirate Smile]

11. Right. But I don't think we are going to get any options we will even

remotely like.

[bunny planet]

2. Three words.

Quaint, Geneva Conventions

[wabranty]

3. Consider this. . .

Once he's appointed, he's there for life. This could mean that Gonzales may become a moderate or even liberal once he is free of W influence. Or he could become a raging Scalia clone like Thomas. Do we want to gamble on such a possibility when he has shown that he has tendencies toward the far-right side as evidenced by his torture memo?

But then again, if the hard-core righters don't want him, maybe he is the best choice. I suppose a gamble is the best we can hope for in era of W.
:dilemma:

[Pirate Smile]

4. Exactly. "Another David Souter" - I'll take it. We could sure as hell

get a lot worse.

[pgh_dem]

5. The guy who wrote that memo is not a closet liberal

David Souter didn't come to his job with a history of providing legal advice condoning torture.

Don't be fooled, consider the source (Novak).

This is a smokescreen...Gonzalez *will* be on the short list of SC associate nominees...don't let him play good cop.

[Pirate Smile]

6. kick

[napi21]

7. I think Gonzales is a much better AG than Ashcroft!

Considering the disastrous choices Shrub COULD make...Gonzales might be ok. Remember, whoever he chooses, it will be replacing an already conservative judge. The problems really come if he gets to nominate a third one!

[elsiesummers]

8. Long live Justice Stevens.

[Pirate Smile]

10. OMG isn't that the truth. How old is he now? 83 or 84?