SHOCK! Sandra Day O'Connor Steps Down- Page 3

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:56pm

A few things- Gonzalez, compared to a lot of the other names being bandied about for this spot, really is a moderate.

Also, if the new candidate is politically a lot like O'Connor, he or she could pass quite quickly. I think Scalia flew through on a 98-0 vote because he was replacing the similarly conservative Rehnquist, who was being elevated after the also-conservative Burger retired. Of course, these are different times. But I honestly don't think the Bushies are going to try to pass through a really controversial candidate after all the grief they got for the Bolton nomination. Maybe I'm underestimating their sheer stubborness, but I'm trying to be optimistic.

Slate published a very informative shortlist of potential justices before O'Connor announced her retirement. Thought you might find it interesting:

Slate Updated On: 7/1/05 at 02:56 PM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:59pm

PLum, I love your eternal optimism in all things Bush.
But I will say, I so very much hope you are correct.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:01pm

Oddly enought--the Christian Right Wing doesn't want Gonzales:

"If opposition to abortion is Bush's pre-eminent social conservative position, Gonzales is a most improbable choice. He could not bring himself to support parental notification on the Texas Supreme Court. While he professes to be anti-abortion, he maintains Roe v. Wade is inviolable -- a judicial version of John Kerry's formulation.

"Conservatives fear Gonzales will be another in a long line of Supreme Court justices who have proved more liberal than the president who appointed them expected -- John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter. That is a view widely held inside the White House, but not by the occupant who counts most. George W. Bush loves Al Gonzales and would like his former chief counsel to head a "Gonzales Court."
Robert Novak: No, not Gonzales!

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:05pm

Thanks for making the last happy point I left out of my post, PJ. The conservative appointee who turns out to be not as conservative as expected is a surprisingly common occurence. Other fun examples include Blackmun and, most memorably, Earl Warren. Wouldn't it be fun if Bush's big legacy in the Supreme Court turned out to be an outright liberal?

Okay, it's not happening, but the thought gives me a good laugh. Updated On: 7/1/05 at 03:05 PM

[Millie42]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:10pm

Just a thought, but if a man like Gonzales takes O'Connor's spot, do you think a female will take over for Rehnquist?

It seems that the govt tries to keep a certain pattern of females/minorities on the bench. I, personally, would like a female to be put in the current/soon vancancies, but then again...I certainly wouldn't be unhappy if there was a perfectly qualified man.

Another interesting thing:
I took a class on the dynamics of the Supreme Court and it was interesting to see the role that birth order played. Most justices are first borns/only children, but of those youngest children that served they are usually more liberal voters. It was very interesting to see broken down into numbers and charts!

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:15pm

I didn't know about the sibling thing, Millie. Cool. :)

I was thinking about the identity politics involved in choosing a replacement, too, but I don't think it will be as much of a factor as it would have been without the presence of Ginsberg. There will still be a designated female if O'Connor is replaced by a man. And if that man is Gonzalez, we'll have our first Hispanic justice.

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:20pm

Wait a minute, PalJoey, I'm totally confused by what you said back there. You quoted Bush as saying this:

"As well, I will continue to consult, as will my advisors, with members of the United States Senate."

And then YOU said:

"Nowhere does he say he will consult with Democratic senators."

So, is being consulted as a member of the UNITED STATES Senate not good enough?

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:28pm

Justthefacts, Karl Rove has made it very clear: When this administration says "Americans" they mean "Republicans." The Democrats are the Un-Americans.

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:34pm

Okay, so then Democratic senators are members of what senate?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:39pm

Papa, you are wrong when you say, "for anyone who's been following the supreme court in any way lately this is anything but a shock as it's been bandied about for weeks now that it would be sandy who stepped down rather than willlie."

AP says, "O'Connor's decision - so closely held that a son did not know in advance - marked the first retirement in 11 years on an aging court."

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:42pm

How about if he said this:

"I will be consulting with members of the United States Senate as well as Democratic senators."

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:45pm

I'd say if Bush appoints Bolton to the U.N. while Congress is recessed, he's gonna have very hard time getting the more moderate members of Congress to accept any of his more conservative Supreme Court nominations.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 5:59pm

Hopefully, Bush will be smart and choose someone who is very similar to O'Connor. Everyone wins with that scenario. Save the conservative for when Rehnquist leaves. This way, it's a wash, and the country isn't torn further apart.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 6:11pm

With a 43% approval rating and midterm elections coming up, I don't know that Bush has the political capital to get two ultraconservative judges through the Senate, anyway. Let a moderate replace O'Connor and save the fight for the ultraconservative for Rhenquist's replacement.

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 8:10pm

I agree, Margo. It'll be easiest for Bush to push through judges that are similar to the ones they're replacing- like I said, that's how Scalia slipped through without a peep. (Though really, he makes the justice he replaced look like Ted Kennedy sometimes.)

And Bush is constitutionally required to get the "advice and consent" of the Senate before appointing a judge, anyway. Last time I checked, that means Democrats and Republicans. He might not consult with Democrats beforehand, but I wouldn't expect him too, anyway.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 8:15pm

well gee, Plum, respond to Margo only as if I hadn't said exactly the same thing before him!

POUT!

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 8:38pm

Ack! Sorry. My only excuse is my irrational glee at finding that Sunday in the Park With George will be playing in London while I'm there.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 8:41pm

uh huh. Sure. The Sondheim excuse. Like I ain't heard THAT one before!

[Plum]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 11:07pm

Daily Kos

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 11:37pm

apparently the only person who knew this was coming was bww's own papalovesmambo.

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down unexpectedly from the Supreme Court on Friday, closing out a career as the first female justice and the anchor of a shaky majority for abortion rights.

O'Connor, 75 and a breast cancer survivor, kept her retirement a surprise even from her son, and it was not until Friday morning that she dispatched her letter, hand-delivered to the president.

It seemed to catch Bush's team off guard. The president and his staff had long been anticipating a retirement letter from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer.

It seems, however that Papalovesmambo knew this was going to happen. "If you follow the courts, you'd realize this was expected," Ohio resident Papalovesmambo exclaimed as he hurriedly returned to the International House of Pancakes where Mr. Mambo was leading a lecture on the Rotti-Tutti Fresh-and-Fruitti breakfast meal conspiracy that he claims was "funded by Democrats" out to sink the egg industry.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 11:40pm

in ohio, no one can hear you scream....

[feinstein9]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 2:14am

Posted: 7/2/05 at 2:25am

Not that it would matter to those who get their opinions on a daily basis from the mainstream press, but papa is certainly not the only one who was aware of this possibility.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 10:24am

yeah, me and bill kristol, for one:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/758akmdq.asp

the rumors were out there, the signs were there, but for those who chose to be spoonfed their news by the mainstream media, please, by all means continue to trumpet the great shock.

and robbo, your knowledge of the rutti tutti simply confrims that the conspiracy is firmly in place, it just might be that it's a conspiracy of morons, not democrats.

Updated On: 7/2/05 at 10:24 AM

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/2/05 at 10:26am

"It seemed to catch Bush's team off guard. The president and his staff had long been anticipating a retirement letter from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer."

It seems W watches mainstream news and reads yahoo, too.