Bill Kristol was right: O'Connor is the first to go... (Suddenly this joke seems pretty funny.) So now the test begins for Bush: replace her with a moderate like Alberto Gonzales, and risk the wrath of the right, or bump up the conservative quotient on the court by replacing her with a religious conservative. Here we go...
Update: Kristol's first prognostication was correct. Here was the second half:
(2) President Bush will appoint Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to replace O'Connor. Bush certainly wants to put Gonzales on the Supreme Court. Presidents usually find a way to do what they want to do.
And his aides will have an argument to make to conservatives (like me) who would be unhappy with a Gonzales pick: Bush would not, after all, be replacing a conservative stalwart like Rehnquist with Gonzales. Gonzales would be taking O'Connor's seat, and Gonzales is likely to be as conservative as, or even more conservative than, O'Connor. Indeed, Karl Rove will continue, Gonzales is as conservative a nominee to replace O'Connor as one could find who could overcome a threatened Democratic filibuster. Bush aides will also assure us privately that when Rehnquist does step down, Bush will nominate a strong conservative as his replacement. They might not tell us that nominee would be as an associate justice, for Bush would plan to then promote Gonzales to chief justice--thus creating a "Gonzales Court," a truly distinctive Bush legacy...
It's important to note that not everyone on the right thinks a Gonzales nod would be such a bad thing, pointing out that it could help solidify a GOP majority by drawing support from Hispanics. From the Vast Right-wing Conspiracy on June 23rd:
But what if Bush can fend off the fiends and get AG2 on the SCOTUS? What are the implications of such a historic move? We’re talking about the first-ever Hispanic (eh) Supreme Court justice. Dems will have Thurgood Marshall, and the GOP Alberto Gonzales. As the amount of Hispanic voters continues to grow, it will be incumbent upon the GOP to take the strides necessary to lock this bloc up. Alberto Gonzales is well-respected in the Hispanic community, even securing the support of (by no means GOP-leaning) Hispanic groups like La Raza. The future effect of this move could help solidify a Republican majority in a potentially tumultous 2006 and beyond. The GOP is in danger of losing the Senate majority next time around (subtract Santorum, Chafee, Burns, and Frist’s seat from the majority), and being able to court more Hispanics with evidence of outreach and respect for the power of the new bloc could be just what we need to hold on to power. Sorry for being so Machiavellian here, but one must do what one must do lol.
Of course, Bush could get around the problem by simply appointing another Hispanic justice who is far more conservative than Gonzales, (someone like the other A.G. -- Emilio Garza -- but Gonzales is a strong Bush loyalist, whom Dubya has long wanted to put him on the court. And it's not at all certain that a Gonzalez confirmation would be any less bloody than if Bush nominated someone else, given the A.G.'s issues with the Geneva Conventions.
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dim done
done = request.form("done")
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done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
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End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
