Supreme Court "candidates who are truly liberals aren’t really on the table" [View All]

http://thinkprogress.org/author/Think%20Progress/

Bloomberg reports that the President Obama’s potential Supreme Court nominees “are relative moderates.” Supreme Court appellate lawyer Tom Goldstein notes, “The candidates who are truly liberals aren’t really on the table.” By contrast, President Bush rewarded die-hard conservatives with two selections from their wish list.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aKkGcLT5tGVI

Obama Shuns the Left as White House Mulls U.S. High Court Slot

By Greg Stohr

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Justice John Paul Stevens’s retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court may remind progressive legal groups that reshaping the judiciary ranks low on President Barack Obama’s priority list.

As Obama considers his choice for a successor, such groups as the Alliance for Justice and the American Constitution Society, which back broad protection of individual rights, likely will wield far less influence than their conservative counterparts did under President George W. Bush.

The leading prospects -- U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appellate judges Merrick Garland and Diane Wood -- are relative moderates. Kagan has backed strong presidential authority over national security; rulings by Garland and Wood suggest they would expand rights only gradually.

“The candidates who are truly liberals aren’t really on the table,” said Tom Goldstein, a Washington appellate lawyer whose Scotusblog Web site tracks the court. “You can just tell that it’s not where the White House is headed, and the groups themselves seemingly accept it.”