If Gonzalez is not conservative enough, who would they like to see nominated, the Grand Ayatollah Dr. James Dobson, or maybe xtian Mullah Bob Jones?
I'm sure those two would do just fine, or anyone who would say there is "no right to privacy", homosexuals can be arrested, taking care of the environment is bad, and hand the right-wing faux Christians the public education system to fill with their political ideology and rapture game.
The Judiciary and the Right Wing: Attacks on Independence
The Right on O'Connor's Announced Retirement: In Their Own Words
After Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement on Friday, right-wing pundits, activists and leaders wasted no time and continued lambasting her for her legacy as a mainstream conservative with moderate opinions in areas where radical right activists prefer extreme judicial activism. These pundits used O’Connor’s announcement to rally their troops and encourage President Bush to nominate what they call a “strict Constitutionalist” nominee.
The message from the Radical Right to Bush is orchestrated, coordinated and unrelenting: Stand behind your campaign “promise” to nominate justices in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, whose decisions epitomize the most extreme right-wing judicial philosophies. But the President should remember he has a broader constituency. His decisions matter to all Americans. Fulfilling campaign promises that pander to the most extreme fringes of any political party is no way to pick a Justice for the highest court in the land.
The Right: “Primed for the Fight”
"I am confident that President Bush will name a replacement for Justice O'Connor who has the same judicial philosophy as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, as he indicated he would in his reelection campaign,” announced Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), at an afternoon press conference. Perkins went on to flex the muscle of grassroots forces that he claimed his group could muster in a nomination battle. "The public is primed for the fight it will take to confirm a nominee. FRC can motivate significant grassroots support for the President's nominees. We will wage an unprecedented effort for a fair and prompt up or down vote through the mobilization of 20,000 churches across the nation, weekly conference calls in targeted states, the strengthening of the FRC team and activation of grassroots through www.frc.org " Source
Fulfilling “campaign promises” to pick a Justice for the highest court in the land
The American Family Association blasted an action alert e-mail to its members to “Stand With The President On His Philosophy.” The action alert notes that “During his campaign, President Bush promised to appoint judges who shared his views on the role of judges, such as Justices Scalia and Thomas. Send the email asking that the President hold fast on his promise and appoint someone with that philosophy. He will be under tremendous pressure from every leftwing organization and Senator in the country to back down and appoint a liberal. They will spend millions of dollars trying to force him to change his promise. Please email him and encourage him to stay the course. That is why people voted for him.” Source
"Today marks a watershed moment in American history: the resignation of a swing-vote justice on the Supreme Court and the opportunity to change the Court’s direction,” said Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, noting that recent Court rulings have demonstrated “the desperate need for justices who will interpret the Constitution as it was written, not as the latest fads of legal theorists dictate.” Dobson continued, "President Bush must nominate someone whose judicial philosophy is crystal clear. And no one has been clearer about this than the President himself, who said during his campaign that he would appoint justices in the mold of Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia. We have full confidence that he will carry out that pledge." Source
"The president must be true to his word. He must keep faith with the folks who elected him twice. In other words, he must replace Sandra Day O'Connor with a strict constructionist," said Vision America President Rick Scarborough. Source
“The President has the historic opportunity to keep faith with the promise he has repeated numerous times, which is to name justices who are like Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas,” said Jan LaRue, Concerned Women for America’s Chief Counsel. “O’Connor was known as a ‘swing-vote’ but that’s no reason for the President to swing away from his promise and yield to the left’s demands not to ‘upset the balance of the Court.’ That’s not a constitutional requirement. The American people understood and relied on his promise to name judges who will interpret the law and not write it. They expect him to keep that promise.” Source
The Right devalues Consultation as “Political Fiction”
Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon: “The President has stated he wants justices who will faithfully interpret—not rewrite the Constitution. His day has arrived, and we will do everything we can to help him in this effort. Sheldon states, “There is already a cry from some liberals that the President needs to consult with the Senate before he makes a selection of a nominee. This is pure political fiction.” Source
Committee for Justice: “You will be held responsible for attacks on the President's nominee”
Committee for Justice (CFJ) issues a press release that warns “Red-state Democrats” with Chairman C. Boyden Gray saying "today the battle is joined.” Gray went on to threaten Red-State Democrats: “We will be watching Senate Democrats and intend to link moderate and red states senators to their liberal Senate colleagues and outside groups. If Sens. Kennedy, Schumer, Durbin, Leahy, and Boxer attack, it will be Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Tom Carper (Del.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Ken Salazar (Colo.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), and Tim Johnson (S.D.) who will be held accountable."
Source
Trying to set the stage for battle
"One thing is very clear given this retirement and the important cases facing this court in the next term who the President decides to nominate to this position could determine the future of jurisprudence in several critical arenas," said Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary. "To submit to the obstruction of a minority of Senators and leave this Court with a seat empty could mean several 4-4 decisions.” Source
The American Center for Law and Justice said that the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor creates the "most critical vacancy possible" on the Supreme Court of the United States. ACLJ Chief Counsel, Jay Sekulow said they are working closely with other organizations and are prepared to launch a nationwide campaign in support of President Bush’s nominee. Source
“Take Action!” writes the Center for Reclaiming America. ““The appointment of a new Supreme Court justice is of paramount importance for the future of the Constitution…Contact the White House and encourage President Bush to nominate a justice who will uphold the Constitution, not rewrite it (202-456-1111). Then, contact your Senators and encourage them to allow an up or down vote on all judicial nominations.” Source
Fight over Supreme Court compared to War on Terror
Ken Connor, formerly of the Family Research Council and now chairman of the Center for a Just Society, emphasized that "one of the keys to President Bush's election victories was his commitment to appoint judges who would strictly interpret the constitution and not legislate from the bench." Connor continued, "Though the Left will do everything in their power to stop him from fulfilling that promise, the president must view this fight, along with the war on terror, as the most important in his presidency...There are too many quality Supreme Court candidates worthy of a confirmation fight, and worthy of a seat on the court, for us to accept a nominee who is chosen only because he or she will easily win Senate confirmation." Source
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, formerly with the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and now executive director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said “There can be no more critical decision that President Bush will make then who he nominates to the United States Supreme Court." The Christian Defense Coalition plans to hold rallies, prayer vigils and demonstrations at the Supreme Court building, beginning three days before the confirmation hearings start and continuing throughout the process. Source
Liberty Counsel issues a press release that notes Justice O’Connor’s “vacancy means the future of the Court hangs in the balance and the power base could shift one way or the other depending on her replacement.” Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, also commented: “Today’s announcement regarding Justice O’Connor’s retirement marks the beginning of an historic shift in America. Her replacement will be critical to determine the future of the Supreme Court….Justice O’Connor’s replacement will be a hard fought battle. We must insist that her vacancy is filled with a justice who respects the rule of law and the Constitution.” Source
"President Bush must not shy away from appointing a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, and the Senate must not allow a filibuster of a qualified nominee," said David Keene of the American Conservative Union. "Liberals are sure to conduct a vicious campaign of character assassination against any conservative appointment to the Supreme Court. President Bush and Senate leaders must stand up to the brutal tactics of the Left and deliver the strong constitutionalist justice America needs." Source
“O’Connor Rule”
Matthew J. Franck writes in the National Review that “O'Connor should be remembered as one of the worst contributors to American jurisprudence in recent history.” Franck, a political science professor at Radford University, said “A few years ago I told my students my "O'Connor rule" for saving oneself a lot of trouble: If the Court has declared anything unconstitutional, and the vote was 5-4, and the fifth vote was provided by O'Connor, the case was wrongly decided.” Source
At times, the Right was “pleased” with O’Connor’s rulings
“Justice O’Connor leaves a mixed legacy with regard to religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family,” said Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund. At times, we were pleased with her rulings, such as in the 1995 Rosenberger decision, the first big Supreme Court victory ADF backed, which led to many legal dominoes falling with regard to equal access. But she became a major proponent of international law, rewrote the Constitution by finding a “right” for sodomy, and allowed the nightmare of abortion to continue in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Stenberg v. Carhart decisions.Our hope for the new justice is that he or she will interpret the Constitution as it was written and intended by the founders of our nation…Whomever President Bush appoints and is confirmed by the Senate will have what many experts see as a profound influence on the future interpretation of the Constitution and American law.” Source
O’Connor’s ideological “betrayal” of the right wing
“Republicans were consistently chagrined by her decisions and say she betrayed her conservative ideological views on other political issues by strongly backing abortion,” notes anti-abortion news source, LifeNews.com “Her resignation opens the door for President George W. Bush to make his first appointment to the Supreme Court and paves the way for an intense political battle.” Source
The Radical Right on Sandra Day O’Connor and the Ten Commandments cases
PFAW recently prepared a report on the extreme right’s reaction to the decision in the Kentucky and Texas cases regarding public displays of the Ten Commandments. Continuing its practice of turning every event into an opportunity to rail against restraint, moderation, or compromise (see here, here, here, here and here) the Right reacted angrily to the recent Supreme Court rulings regarding government displays of Ten Commandments. (People For the American Way is regularly publishing Low-Lights on the Right's Radioactive Rhetoric regarding judges and the filibuster. (For general News From the Right from the Senate floor and around the country, go here.)
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