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From what I have heard Judge Roberts is not that bad a pick, from any standpoint. Surely, the hearings should proceed to ferret out his beliefs, since Bush purposefully chose someone with no track record but it is important that this nomination not result in what Bush really wants it to. To take the heat off of him for the Downing Street Memos and Treasongate.
In the run-up to the nomination tonight, all agreed this will be the new story in DC from now until Roberts is confirmed. That story needs to be brief so we can get back to the treason that has been committed and the impeachment that must follow. Democratic Senators need to keep their eye on the ball and realize that Bush only needs 5 votes to avoid a filibuster. Unless they can convince Roberts to openly admit something egregious that we do not know about him, he should be approved quickly enough so that the whole country can get back to the important work of impeaching George Bush.
What this also does is set a precedent. Yes the court moves slightly to the right with Roberts over O'Connor but realize that the real battles are yet to come. By accepting this candidate now, we remove the ability of Bush to replace Rehnquist with a similar ideologue. That rationale will be gone if the Dems accept this shift.
Hold the hearings but keep your eye on the ball. If this nomination is going to be confirmed, and only five votes are needed, then do not continue to drag this out and take the attention away from the treason and lies told to Congress to lead this country to war illegally. The real battle will be over who replaces Rehnquist and willing to move a bit to the right now, will deny Bush the excuse of trying to replace Rehnquist based on ideology. More importantly, a fair and quick process will allow us all to continue to demand accountability for this administration for the lies that have killed at least 1,800 of our children and the treason committed against this country.
July 19, 2005. - AW
