Bush has nominated Roberts to be Chief Justice. It also appears that Roberts is now slated to replace Rehnquist and O’Connor will stay on the court until another replacement is found and confirmed. So, Roberts is now filling Rehnquist’s shoes instead of O’Connor’s. This changes the dynamics.
It should raise the stakes and scrutiny of Roberts’s nomination. But it also gives Bush a second opportunity to choose a woman and a more centrist judge to fill O’Connor’s position on the court.
If Roberts is not confirmed before the Court convenes then Justice John Paul Stevens will take over the duties of acting Chief Justice. Stevens is considered the most liberal judge on the Court.
first thing we need to start flooding our Senators offices with phone calls, faxes and emails. Drown us? Hell, no! Drown them with our comments!
Now, more than ever this nomination MUST be stopped. This man has been groomed for the last thirty years for this position. I just wrote Boxer an email and also intend on calling her San Diego office this morning to demand that she do everything in her power to stop Roberts from being confirmed. This is no longer just about women’s rights to me. This is about all our human rights that could surely be dismantle rapidly with these next two vacancies. Calling all Democrats…get your spine here.
This diary at dailykos gives it:
This man John Roberts has pushed positions that became setbacks for minorities, for the disadvantaged, disabled, and for progress for women’s equity.
He helped water down the applicability of the Voting Rights Act going all the way back to the Reagan years.
Surely the Dems could tie this to the indifference in the NOLA disaster… but that would mean they would actually have to Stand Up and fight…
Fax bomb every office. They have to pick up the faxes everyday. It worked once before when we did this to Reid. We MUST get busy. All federal offices will be closed today. Let them come in to work tomorrow with tons of faxes waiting for them.
If Bush is willing to hang his neocon hat on Roberts for CJ there is way more to this guy than meets the eye or that we’ve found out yet.
he is 50 years old and will be able to shape the court for the next quarter century.
There is a reason they went with “moderate” Roberts here.
We need to have a plan here… and the dems have already blown it by saying they wouldn’t oppose. Stupid, stupid idiots. They have no longer term thoughts in their pretty little helmet heads.
By all means, press the Dems to question him closely and tough on some of his past comments and decisions, but essentially, the fact he is replacing Rhenquist as opposed to O’Conner is at worst a wash for the court. The CJ doesnt have any more power on the SC then other justices, other then he picks the judge to write the majority opinion that he happens to be siding with.
It is the new nominee to replace O’Conner now that needs to be closely watched.
We need to fight it so hard because it is bad for this country. Period. We need to stand for something.
Your logic that he won’t be any worse isn’t good enough for me. Let’s fight for something better. If we lose at least we went down swinging. Besides, Roberts is in his fifties which means he would be on the court for a long time.
I have a $100 on Abu Gonzales.
I think at this point we have definitive evidence that Reid doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing. Either that, or he’s actively sabotaging opposition party efforts. If Roberts, a self-declared “moderate”, passes, you can bet that Bush will nominate an even more extremist right-winger to fill O’Connor’s slot, in the name of “balance”.
Well it seems as though the Dems have already made the concession.
Armando is spouting the new party line:
In short, Social Conservatives have gotten their nominee – his name is John Roberts. For replacing O’Connor, Bush must pick a Justice like O’Connor, not Scalia, Thomas or Rehnquist.
And just like Hilliary foolishly believed that her finally endorsing the ludicris FDA Director that the GOP would release the morning after pill… and then was “ShocKed…Shocked I tell you” when they renege…
How many times are Dems going to fall for the Charlie Brown trick…when Lucy pulls the football away as he just about to kick…. If Dems approve Roberts I will cancel my monthly payment to the DNC…
God could not have given Dems a more opportune moment for them to SAVE the country and they refuse to satnd up and lead. The whole fucking world think the US is a joke and yet the Dems still quake in their boots.
Now today we have to suffer seeing Bull Clinton parade around with the Bushes… enough is fucking enough..
Geez I did’t read the whole diary …seems like everyone has gotten the meme memo…”The next one will be better”
Shame on anyone who passes off this bullshit…
Or did you forget that after LIEberman’s Kiss…the GOP had no problem taking away Connecticut’s submarine base… Lieberman had to kiss extra hard and killed the Dems filibuster abilities to get it back///
Simple solution. Anyone – anyone – that does not oppose Roberts using their full capabilities (IE, they most not vote him out of committee, must vote to filibuster, and if that fails, vote against him) receives zero money and zero support and (if feasible) a primary challenger from the grassroots at their next election.
So, if I understand this correctly, at present the Democrats need to do nothing else then draw out the confirmation process until the court convenes. Then Stevens is nominated?
Would Stevens be a intermediary CJ or would he stay? But whatever, this would give the Democrats time and breath for a strategy, though my impression from afar is that strategy is not their forte.
No no. Stevens would never actually become CJ. But he would handle the administrative duties of the CJ and preside over the court until one is confirmed.
The court will probably push any contentious cases to the back of the schedule to try to avoid any 4-4 outcomes. So delaying just to delay is fairly pointless.
That has to be the Democrats line and Pelosi and Reid need to be told in no uncertain terms to GET THE DEMS IN LINE.
We must tell the Dems that if they don’t fight EVERY fight for us that we will REPLACE them or go Independent on their tired asses. We need 2 Parties (at least!) in this country not one and a half.
I’d rather have a former R like Jeffords who is now an Independent than a slew of D’s like Zell.
Our President has Poll numbers in the toilet and has been an unmitigated disaster on every front for America, yet they act like sheep for him. I will actively campaign against ANY Dems who cave on a nominee that I will have to live with for the rest of my life. Roberts is 50 years old and could be on the bench for 30+ years.
…but if there are any congressional Dems listening, FIGHT! Do not give one single fucking inch. The beast is wounded NOW. Don’t wait for it to heal, FINISH IT.
A man with two years as a judge… and what qualifications before that… is to become Chief Justice?
This is crazy!