OUR WORST FEARS ARE BEGINNING TO COME TO PASS
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court William Rehnquist has died.
Rehnquist, who was appointed by then-president Richard M. Nixon in 1972 and became Chief Justice when appointed to the post by Ronald Reagan in 1986, passed away late last night. He had been undergoing treatments for thyroid cancer and had a tracheotomy along with radiation treatments and chemotherapy as part of his treatment. He was 80.
One of the worst fears that many progressives and moderates had when George W. Bush was reelected last year was that he would have at least two, and possibly three vacancies on the United States Supreme Court to fill. The hearings will begin on filling the vacancy being left by Justice Sandra D. O'Connor's retirement with John Roberts.
Now Bush has another vacancy to fill...and that scares the hell out of me.
1 Comments:
If you lose sleep at night about Bush choosing a replacement for Rehnquist, you're totally missing the big picture. There is almost no person Bush can pick to replace Rehnquist that would shift the Court further to the right in any meaningful fashion. Even if he finds a Scalia clone, few prospective cases would come out differently than if Rehnquist were casting the votes himself.
Your worst nightmare would be a Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter, or Breyer vacancy - two of which are very realistic to consider. The only way Rehnquist's passing now is bad for you is that he didn't die during a liberal presidency, when his replacement would certainly shift the Court to the left.
In contrast, conservatives are very afraid, even in the wake of the Roberts pick, that Bush will choose a "Souter" - someone who appears to be conservative, but once on the bench votes left. This scenario is somewhat more likely given Bush's perceived weakness in the aftermath of Katrina.
So take a deep breath. Rehnquist's passing means little to liberals except a different face for them to hate.
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