Dem quandry over Roberts

NY Times:

Senate Democrats are deeply conflicted about how to vote on the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to be the nation's 17th chief justice, and appear divided about how, and whether, to use their vote to send a message to President Bush as he selects a candidate to fill a second Supreme Court vacancy.

"That's a critical part of this conversation," Senator Richard J. Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Thursday, when asked if he hoped to send a message to Mr. Bush about the next nominee. "We understand that this is the first of two vacancies on a court that's so evenly divided that one bad choice could make a - from my point of view - could have an impact for a long time."

Judge Roberts's unflappable performance during three days of questioning has clearly put Democrats in a quandary. Some say a strong vote against his nomination could prod the White House into naming a centrist to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a crucial swing vote. Others say that supporting the Roberts nomination could make Democrats appear reasonable, giving them more credibility to oppose the next nominee.

Despite Mr. Durbin's remark, the Democratic leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said the vote on Judge Roberts "shouldn't be message time."

...


The message they would send if they vote as a block against Roberts is that they are idealogs who will vote against any non liberal nominee. It would also be a message that Bush would be wasting his time to consult with them about future nominees. Roberts is clearly smarter thanany of them when it comes to legal issues and as usual they find that scary. The liberal interest groups who spoke against Roberts are clear reactionaries who have spoken against every Republican nominee in the last 35 years. Many of those nominees have gone on to be justices who have upheld their causes. It is clear that they do not want justice who will follow the las. They want justices who will tailor the law to fit the result they want.

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