Panel Chairman Specter to Press Roberts on Cases(re. Congress's authority)

New York Times:
Panel Chairman to Press Roberts on Cases
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: August 9, 2005


WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 - In the first hint of how he will steer the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Judge John G. Roberts Jr., Senator Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said Monday that he would press the nominee for his views on specific cases involving the authority of Congress to pass broad social legislation, a power that Democrats fear will be rolled back by a more conservative court.

In a three-page letter to Judge Roberts, Mr. Specter raises pointed questions about two recent court decisions invalidating legislation Congress passed under its authority to regulate interstate commerce. That power has for decades been used to produce expansive legislation, including environmental protections, civil rights laws and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The current court has been trimming back the authority, however, and Democrats have vowed to make interstate commerce a big issue in the Roberts hearings. Now Mr. Specter, a Republican who is widely regarded as the panel's sharpest constitutional lawyer, is suggesting that he shares the Democrats' concerns....

***

(Specter) said he was particularly upset that the court, under Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, had questioned lawmakers' "method of reasoning" in striking down laws...."I'm not suggesting we pack the court, but at a minimum, the Senate is determined to confirm new justices who respect their role."

Democrats and liberal advocacy groups, caught off guard by Mr. Specter's letter, were elated....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/politics/politicsspecial1/09confirm.html?hp&ex=1123560000&en=8dbf3a6c1d516c62&ei=5094&partner=homepage

i don't ever, ever support moderates or conservatives -- but i do love to be surprised.
and i wonder sometimes what a conversation might like with some one like him.