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DLC comments on O'Conner
From the DLC
THE NEW DEM DISPATCH, July 01, 2005
Political commentary & analysis from the DLC =============================================
Idea of the Week: Avoiding a Judicial Armageddon
As Americans prepare to celebrate the values they share on
Independence Day, the sudden retirement announcement by Supreme
Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner has launched into motion a series
of events that could produce one of the most polarizing and
paralyzing political fights in recent memory.
O'Conner has been generally viewed for years as the "swing vote" on
a divided Court with respect to a wide array of issues. As a result,
conservative activists will view her retirement and replacement as a
once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the Court and thus, U.S.
constitutional law. But the main reason her retirement could touch
off a judicial Armageddon is simple: O'Conner's adamant refusal to
countenance any revision, much less reversal, of Roe. v. Wade, the
decision which established a woman's constitutional right to choose.
By most accounts, there are only three current justices --
Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas -- who would likely support a full
reversal of Roe. But replacing O'Conner with a reliable anti-Roe
justice might lead to some revisions of the decision, and would
likely put the Court just one vote away from the fateful step to
overturn basic abortion rights. After years of being fed symbolism
and empty promises by a series of Republican presidents, the anti- abortion movement and the Cultural Right generally will without any
question view this appointment as the day when the bill comes due
for their faithful support of the GOP. And for the same reason, pro- choice advocates, will fight any appointment designed to undermine
Roe with equal tenacity.
Given the fact that the U.S. Senate nearly ground to a halt earlier
this year over Republican efforts to outlaw filibusters of Court of
Appeals nominees, there's not much doubt a Supreme Court-shifting
appointment would pretty much overwhelm every other issue in
Congress, and indeed, in the political world generally, until it is
resolved one way or another.
There is one, and only one, person who can prevent this judicial
Armageddon: George W. Bush. By the simple expedient of replacing
O'Conner with a moderate-to-conservative justice who's not
determined to undermine or overturn Roe, Bush could defuse the
crisis and give Washington a fighting chance to spend the remainder
of this year dealing with a large array of national challenges from
winning the peace in Iraq to reducing the budget deficit. Without
question, taking this step would absolutely infuriate the Cultural
Right, but it would almost certainly be met with relief and
gratitude by a majority of the American people. As a second-term
president, Bush is ultimately free to do the right thing regardless
of the pressure he's under from conservative ideologues.
It would be highly appropriate on this Independence Day for the
president to declare his own independence from those in his party
who want this fight, and who would sacrifice an already fragile
sense of national unity without a second thought.
One thing is clear. This appointment will enable the president to do
what he so often promised to do during his first campaign: "change
the tone in Washington." He now must decide whether he wants to
change it for better or for worse.
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