It's interesting that the week Arlen Specter switches parties, David Souter decides to hang up his Supreme Court gown at the end of the term.
We just about have a filibuster-free Senate, at least for judicial nominees. There are 57 Democrats and two liberal-friendly independents, and you can pretty much bank on the RINO Sisters of Maine going along with anything short of the Devil incarnate as a nominee. That's 61, 62 if Al Franken gets on board by the time the nomination is voted on.
This will likely be the first time in recent memory that we've had such a lopsided Senate and the specter of a filibuster didn't loom over a prospective nominee. Souter was a product of the modern judicial fights, as the elder president Bush wanted to avoid a nomination brawl and nominated a bland, moderate New Hampshire jurist. The joke at the time was that Souter avoided all water sports, so he didn't Row or Wade. Once on the bench, he set up shop on the liberal side of the court more often than not.
The next person in that spot will not likely to have that judicial hydrophobia; they're likely to be a loyal liberal who will bow at the altar of Roe v Wade. Here's CNN version of the short-list, with another George HW Bush nominee, 2nd circuit appleate judge Sonia Sotomayor, heading things up; she has Souteresque "moderate-liberal views" per CNN. The conventional wisdom, at least as NPR had it down on my way into work this morning, was that Obama would pick a woman to give Ruth Bader Ginsberg someone to go to the Little Girl's Room with; Sotomayor would be a two-bagger, being both a woman and the first Hispanic justice.
The sad-interesting thing is that while the right side of the Blogosphere will rant and rave over whoever Obama nominates, they're not in any position to do anything about it; there are 61 folks who won't listen to them unless Obama picks someone with horns and a tail.
We just about have a filibuster-free Senate, at least for judicial nominees. There are 57 Democrats and two liberal-friendly independents, and you can pretty much bank on the RINO Sisters of Maine going along with anything short of the Devil incarnate as a nominee. That's 61, 62 if Al Franken gets on board by the time the nomination is voted on.
This will likely be the first time in recent memory that we've had such a lopsided Senate and the specter of a filibuster didn't loom over a prospective nominee. Souter was a product of the modern judicial fights, as the elder president Bush wanted to avoid a nomination brawl and nominated a bland, moderate New Hampshire jurist. The joke at the time was that Souter avoided all water sports, so he didn't Row or Wade. Once on the bench, he set up shop on the liberal side of the court more often than not.
The next person in that spot will not likely to have that judicial hydrophobia; they're likely to be a loyal liberal who will bow at the altar of Roe v Wade. Here's CNN version of the short-list, with another George HW Bush nominee, 2nd circuit appleate judge Sonia Sotomayor, heading things up; she has Souteresque "moderate-liberal views" per CNN. The conventional wisdom, at least as NPR had it down on my way into work this morning, was that Obama would pick a woman to give Ruth Bader Ginsberg someone to go to the Little Girl's Room with; Sotomayor would be a two-bagger, being both a woman and the first Hispanic justice.
The sad-interesting thing is that while the right side of the Blogosphere will rant and rave over whoever Obama nominates, they're not in any position to do anything about it; there are 61 folks who won't listen to them unless Obama picks someone with horns and a tail.
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