Three Words for Bush and His Judges

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070629_three_words_for_bush_and_his_judges/

Three Words for Bush and His Judges

Posted on Jun 29, 2007

By E.J. Dionne

WASHINGTON—Just say no.

The Senate’s Democratic majority—joined by all Republicans who purport to be moderate—must tell President Bush that this will be the answer to any controversial nominee to the Supreme Court or to the appellate courts.

The Senate should refuse even to hold hearings on Bush’s next Supreme Court choice, should a vacancy occur, unless the president reaches agreement with the Senate majority on a mutually acceptable list of nominees.

snip//

If another conservative replaces a member of the court’s moderate-to-liberal bloc, the country would be set on a conservative course for the next decade or more, locking in today’s politics at the very moment when the electorate is running out of patience with the right.

That’s why a majority of senators should warn Bush now that they will not take up his nominee unless he strictly construes the Constitution’s provision that he appoint justices with “the Advice and Consent of the Senate.” The rule should be: If advice isn’t taken, there will be no consent.

And if conservatives claim to believe the president is owed deference on his court appointees, they will be—I choose this word deliberately—lying. In 2005, conservatives had no problem blocking Bush’s appointment of Harriet Miers because they could not count on her as a strong voice for their legal causes. They revealed that their view of judicial battles is not about principle, but power. When they went after Miers, conservatives lost the deference argument.

Much has been written about how the judicial confirmation process is “broken.” A more accurate view is that the ideological struggles in our politics have moved to the courts, and that the formal processes of the Senate don’t deal well with such conflicts.

It would be far better to be honest about what’s going on. The Senate should be unapologetic in saying no, upfront, to loading the bench with conservative judicial activists. If Bush is given this warning and still refuses to engage in serious consultation, the burden will be on him.

Eat My Shorts.

or, maybe,

Suck On This.

Go F yourselves.