Won't You Come Home, John Roberts
As you must know by now, Chief Justice William Rehnquist shuffled off this mortal coil, complete with gold chevrons on the sleeve, Saturday night. And as I’m sure you’ve heard, President Bush has chosen to elevate John Roberts, his current nominee for the bench, to the nominee for the open slot.
This is a fine thing for liberals. At least for now.
Roberts is likely to be confirmed. He was likely to be confirmed before this, and despite any statements by Senate Democrats, he is just as likely to be confirmed this week as last. Roberts is a conservative, but does not seem to be as conservative as Rehnquist was.
In addition, Sandra Day O’Connor has agreed to stay on the Court until a replacement can be named and confirmed. So for now, the Court is no more conservative than it was before O’Connor’s retirement was announced.
Despite the title, the Chief Justice does not have significantly more power than the other Justices. He has a variety of administrative duties, many of which are nominal at best. In practice, most of the real work of the Court is carried out by several or all of the Justices, in consultation. The real power of the Chief lies in his ability to build consensus, which is what will make Roberts a more effective Chief than, say, Scalia would be.
I expected the White House would use the death of Rehnquist to try to draw attention from the hubbub surrounding the mismanagement of the situation in New Orleans. This is its usual tactic. But apparently they realized that Katrina and her aftermath were too big for this sort of distraction. Human suffering trumps judicial nominees any day. And with his political capital at its nadir, Bush wisely chose to avoid confrontation.
For now.
It will be interesting to see who he eventually nominates to fill the renewed O’Connor opening. The choice will likely be tied to the ebb and flow of his political fortunes over the next weeks to months. Let’s hope things stay bad.
This is a fine thing for liberals. At least for now.
Roberts is likely to be confirmed. He was likely to be confirmed before this, and despite any statements by Senate Democrats, he is just as likely to be confirmed this week as last. Roberts is a conservative, but does not seem to be as conservative as Rehnquist was.
In addition, Sandra Day O’Connor has agreed to stay on the Court until a replacement can be named and confirmed. So for now, the Court is no more conservative than it was before O’Connor’s retirement was announced.
Despite the title, the Chief Justice does not have significantly more power than the other Justices. He has a variety of administrative duties, many of which are nominal at best. In practice, most of the real work of the Court is carried out by several or all of the Justices, in consultation. The real power of the Chief lies in his ability to build consensus, which is what will make Roberts a more effective Chief than, say, Scalia would be.
I expected the White House would use the death of Rehnquist to try to draw attention from the hubbub surrounding the mismanagement of the situation in New Orleans. This is its usual tactic. But apparently they realized that Katrina and her aftermath were too big for this sort of distraction. Human suffering trumps judicial nominees any day. And with his political capital at its nadir, Bush wisely chose to avoid confrontation.
For now.
It will be interesting to see who he eventually nominates to fill the renewed O’Connor opening. The choice will likely be tied to the ebb and flow of his political fortunes over the next weeks to months. Let’s hope things stay bad.
posted by John Bliss at
12:48 PM
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