Posted on 07/28/2007 5:23:00 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”
“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”
Schumer’s assertion comes as Democrats and liberal advocacy groups are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court with Bush’s nominees – Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito – has moved quicker than expected to overturn legal precedents.
Senators were too quick to accept the nominees’ word that they would respect legal precedents, and “too easily impressed with the charm of Roberts and the erudition of Alito,” Schumer said.
“There is no doubt that we were hoodwinked,” said Schumer, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said Schumer's comments show "a tremendous disrespect for the Constitution" by suggesting that the Senate not confirm nominees.
"This is the kind of blind obstruction that people have come to expect from Sen. Schumer," Perino said. "He has an alarming habit of attacking people whose character and position make them unwilling or unable to respond. That is the sign of a bully. If the past is any indication, I would bet that we would see a Democratic senatorial fundraising appeal in the next few days."
Schumer voted against confirming Roberts and Alito. In Friday’s speech, he said his “greatest regret” in the last Congress was not doing more to scuttle Alito.
“Alito shouldn’t have been confirmed,” Schumer said. “I should have done a better job. My colleagues said we didn’t have the votes, but I think we should have twisted more arms and done more.”
While no retirements appear imminent, Bush still could have the opportunity to fill another vacancy on the court. Yet the two oldest members – Justice John Paul Stevens, 87, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 74 – are part of the court's liberal bloc and could hold off retirement until Bush leaves office in January, 2009.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, said he was persuaded by a conversation with Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who spoke with Specter at the Aspen Institute gathering in Colorado this month, to study the decisions of the Roberts Court. The term that ended in June was notable for several rulings that reversed or chipped away at several long-standing decisions, delighting conservatives but enraging liberals.
Breyer has publicly raised concerns that conservative justices were violating stare decisis, the legal doctrine that, for the sake of stability, courts should generally leave precedents undisturbed.
“It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much,” Breyer said, reading his dissent from the bench in June to a 5-4 ruling that overturned school desegregation policies in two cities.
Schumer said there were four lessons to be learned from Alito and Roberts: Confirmation hearings are meaningless, a nominee’s record should be weighed more heavily than rhetoric, “ideology matters” and “take the president at his word.”
“When a president says he wants to nominate justices in the mold of [Antonin] Scalia and [Clarence] Thomas,” Schumer said, “believe him.”
It’s not like Bush is going to pick some right wing redneck, Chuck.
in normal times I’d say payback is a bitch there Chuckie.
But we are dealing with so many RINOs that even if the dems stopped any new nominees they know the repubs won’t play in kind if a dem is elected next time.
Little Chuckie does seem to need a serious ass whoopin for just being a constant jerk.
During the revolutionary war it was the Governors, large landowners, ex military , church leaders etc... who led the way to ridding our continent of tyranny.
When France had their “revolution” it started from the peasants and was a bloody wholesale slaughter.
We are at a turning point in our own society as well as the rest of the world and our form of government has kept the wolves at bay and I believe will turn them away shortly.
We need good men of wealth and power to step forward and lead with strength and most importantly faith in God as this is the true source of strength in our nation.
Most of these future leaders are now too focused on lining their pockets. It will take a large scale attack against our nation to awaken these leaders.
The socialist’s will have nowhere to turn when people awaken from the nightmare of such an attack and realize who allowed the enemies into the gate.
The only place President Bush is hated more than the DNC is FR.
Pray for W and Our Troops
As a matter of fact, why isn’t my Republican Senator standing up and swearing that he or she will see to it that the court isn’t inflicted with another Stevens, Ginsburg, or Breyer?
Hey, if the 14% congress wants the libs to be out numbered on the court 2-5 for a couple of years......
Because the mid term 06 election effectively castrated them..
Look at good guys like J.D. Hayworth... The Democrat stategists used the wedge issue of Illegal immigration to frustrate Republicans... Many stayed home in 06 or lost the enthusiasm they had in 04. If you can explain it to my why J.D. Hayworth lost his seat you will define the problem in the GOP and please if you know nothing about the man don’t even respond to this.
Given the number we have seen with their heads up Ted's ass one would say they don't fight because they are in total agreement.
Chuck Shumer proclaims the Constitution of the USA irrelevant.
So what else is new?
He's a democrat.
Breyer is way out of line.
Breyer is way out of line.
Doesn't surprise me in the least.
Imagine if you will (you have to imagine it, since The Stupid Party would never do it in reality) a role reversal in which a Republican senator makes the same statement about Democrat presidential nominees.
I don't think I need say any more about what the MSM would do.
CENSURE schumer NOW!
LLS
so the Dems were hoodwinked on the war, the judges...the Dems make President Bush out to be so dumb, then what does that make the Dems?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The Court should correct itself. Constitution trumps legal doctrine.
The Dems didn't complain when the 20th Century Court turned court tradition on its head when it ruled in favor of liberal, socialist and homosexual causes.
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