Free Republic

They call themselves Main Street Republicans, moderates consigned to the back alleys of politics by their own party. But despite a severe bruising in the fall election, this minority within a minority finds itself with new avenues to explore, including working more closely with Democrats. The Republican Main Street Partnership, a leading voice of GOP moderates in Congress, lost seven of its 48 House members to Democratic challengers in the November election. Two other senior members, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., and Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., are retiring. The group also saw Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., one of its eight Senate members...

When Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter stepped into the shower yesterday, it was an elusive immigration overhaul, not a slippery bar of soap, that he most hoped to keep within his grasp. The Pennsylvania Republican wanted a way to counter the House GOP’s unusual post-passage hearings on the bill, which are sure to delay negotiations and give a platform to critics of the Senate’s “path to citizenship” for millions of illegal immigrants. “I plan to hold some hearings of our own,” he told surprised reporters in the Capitol later in the day. “I just developed the idea this morning in...

Vice President Dick Cheney Thursday defended himself against accusations by a leading Republican senator that he worked to thwart Senate plans to make telephone executives testify at a hearing about a U.S. domestic spying program. A day after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter rebuked Cheney for trying to head off subpoenas of the phone company executives, Cheney acknowledged that he had spoken to Senate leaders and members of Specter's committee. He said in a letter to Specter that he acted when the administration became concerned about a "compulsory process to force testimony" in a matter that could involve classified...

Senators voted Thursday to reject a Republican effort to abolish taxes on inherited estates during an election year with control of Congress at stake. GOP leaders had pushed senators to permanently eliminate the estate tax, which disappears in 2010 under President Bush's first tax cut, but rears up again a year later. A 57-41 vote fell three votes short of advancing the bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the Senate will vote again this year on a tax that opponents call the "death tax." "Getting rid of the death tax is just too important an issue to give...

Sen. John McCain called on Orange County Latino leaders Wednesday to support his immigration bill, saying it was time for them to "speak for people who cannot speak for themselves." "You are the role models," McCain said to a mostly Latino audience of 340 gathered at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. McCain (R-Ariz.) came to Orange County — a hotbed of opposition to illegal immigration — to garner support from the Hispanic 100, a 3-year-old organization that has organized events with President Bush, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and gubernatorial candidates. ... In Orange County, McCain said Latino leaders must press Congress to...

What is going on with Republicans in Congress? They've largely abandoned many traditional conservative principles -- smaller government, belief in the free market and protection of individual, not group, rights. Instead of acting as good stewards of the people's money, Republican members have taken the art of "earmarking" funds for their pet projects to heights that should make big-spending Democrats blush. They've become so obsessed by immigration, many have adopted the centrally planned economic models of radical population-control advocates. And now some Republicans are about to engineer the reconquista of Hawaii. There is much talk among some Republican members of...

Conventional wisdom in political circles is that President Bush has lost the support of the “Republican base” because of his handling of several key issues, especially immigration and government spending. Many political pundits are calling on him to court the base or risk losing control of Congress. I won’t deny the polling evidence, yet my own reading of the numbers is not as pessimistic as that of many GOP insiders. And I have a wholly different perspective on what Bush should do to improve the party’s electoral outlook. While some Republicans are recommending that the president do everything possible to...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Moderate Republicans are off and running in the summer horse racing town of Saratoga Springs and other upstate New York cities, struggling to save their jobs and a dying political breed. In a party dominated by conservatives, the last of the Northeast GOP moderates face several daunting election-year trends, including a strong top of the Democratic ticket in statewide races and growing discontent with President Bush, the Iraq war and the Republican-controlled Congress. New York has always preferred its Republicans in the mold of the late Gov. Nelson Rockefeller - socially liberal and fiscally conservative. "We...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Moderate Republicans are off and running in the summer horse racing town of Saratoga Springs and other upstate New York cities, struggling to save their jobs and a dying political breed. In a party dominated by conservatives, the last of the Northeast GOP moderates face several daunting election-year trends, including a strong top of the Democratic ticket in statewide races and growing discontent with President Bush, the Iraq war and the Republican-controlled Congress. New York has always preferred its Republicans in the mold of the late Gov. Nelson Rockefeller — socially liberal and fiscally conservative. "We...

O.K. Freepers, here’s the list of Pubbies who voted with the Dems Thursday to give Social Security benefits to Illegal Aliens. Brownback (KS) Chafee (RI) DeWine (OH) Graham (SC) Hagel (NE) Lugar (IN) Martinez (FL) McCain (AZ) Specter (PA) Stevens (AK) Voinovich (OH) I must admit that I was shocked by Brownback’s and Lugar’s votes.

President Bush and a group of senators yesterday reached general agreement on an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens. But left out of the closed-door White House meeting were senators who oppose a path to citizenship. The meeting even snubbed two men who had been considered allies of Mr. Bush on immigration -- Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee, and Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican. Mr. Bush in brief remarks to the press said there was agreement to get "a bill that does not grant automatic amnesty to people,...

The government should consider a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits amid rising gasoline prices, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers hurting at the gas pump. "I believe that we have allowed too many companies to get together to reduce competition," Specter said. "They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices," he said. "In the short...

Sen. Chafee's Wife Tries to Save Re-Election Campaign by Ivy J. SellersPosted Apr 21, 2006Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee's re-election odds are looking so bleak his wife Stephanie has sent a letter asking friends registered as Democrats to switch their party affiliations to Republican or Independent in order to support him in the Republican primary. Chafee, who has continually voted with Democrats on key issues, has been the subject of attack from his first days in office as he refuses to support initiatives important to his GOP constituents.

CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. Ryan, 72, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read and afterward vowed to appeal. "I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I provided to the people of Illinois over 40 years, and needless to say I am disappointed in the outcome," the former governor said. Ryan faces up to 20 years in...

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois’ death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. The 72-year-old Republican faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge against him in the 22-count indictment. The jury found Ryan guilty on all charges, including fraud, obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and lying to the FBI. Co-defendant Larry Warner, a Chicago businessman and Ryan friend, was also convicted of racketeering conspiracy, as well...

WASHINGTON - Key provisions of the Senate's main immigration bill would create a "gold card" program for illegal immigrants who entered the United States before Jan. 4, 2004, and create a guest worker program to bring in more foreign laborers, according to Senate Judiciary Committee staff members. The committee is to begin debating the measure Wednesday under a three-week timetable aimed at producing a final version for the full Senate by March 27. Sponsored by the committee chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the legislation is designed to strike a middle course between a bill passed by the House that calls...

THE ILLEGAL ALIEN GOLD CARD By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 07, 2006 10:38 AM Photoshop courtesy of the Stein Report I'm not making this up: Key provisions of the Senate's main immigration bill would create a "gold card" program for illegal immigrants who entered the United States before Jan. 4, 2004, and create a guest worker program to bring in more foreign laborers, according to Senate Judiciary Committee staff members. The committee is to begin debating the measure Wednesday under a three-week timetable aimed at producing a final version for the full Senate by March 27. Sponsored by the committee...

WASHINGTON - The Senate’s main immigration bill would enable most illegal immigrants now in the United States to remain indefinitely as long as they stay employed, but it wouldn’t put them on a glide path to U.S. citizenship. The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin debating the measure Wednesday under a three-week timetable aimed at producing a final version for the full Senate by March 27. Sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee chairman, the legislation is designed to strike a middle course between a bill passed by the House of Representatives calling for tougher immigration enforcement and pro-immigration advocates...

A post-debate news conference among the Republican governor candidates Monday turned into a sometimes-surreal bash session of state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. The strange goings-on started after Topinka threw down the gauntlet in her debate closing statement, calling on her wealthy foes to release a decade of tax returns to show how they’ve made their money. With the live Daily Herald/Chicago Public Radio debate on WBEZ 91.5 FM over, Topinka initially sat down with Sugar Grove businessman Jim Oberweis, Bloomington state Sen. Bill Brady, Chicago millionaire Ron Gidwitz and perennial candidate Andy Martin of Chicago to answer questions from reporters....

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says President George W. Bush's warrantless surveillance program appears to be illegal. Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Specter called the administration's legal reasoning "strained and unrealistic" and said the program appears to be "in flat violation" of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Hearings into the surveillance program are scheduled to begin Monday on Capitol Hill. Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, the former head of the National Security Agency, defended the surveillance on ABC's "This Week" and the Fox News Network, the International Herald Tribune reported. "It's about speed," General...

Ranked by the editors of Human Events1. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R.I.)Once approached by Democratic Leader Harry Reid to switch parties, Chafee has long supported liberal polices. He backs legal abortion, gay rights, federal-funded health care, strict environmental protections and a higher minimum wage. Opposes ANWR drilling. Also was the only Republican in Congress not to endorse the President's reelection and one of three who tried to gut Bush's tax cuts.

Stevens Holds Senate in Session Fight for Oil Drilling Keeps Colleagues From Holiday Break By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 20, 2005; A13 It's an audacious power play, even for Sen. Ted Stevens. The wily and cantankerous Alaska Republican is trying to secure the mother of all pet projects for his state: oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stevens has attached the provision to a popular defense spending bill and has put holiday plans of his Senate colleagues on hold as he dares Democratic and moderate Republican opponents to vote against it. The former Appropriations...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker said Monday that Sen. Joe Lieberman deserves a stiff challenge in his bid for re-election next year - but it won't come from Weicker. Despite some speculation to the contrary, Weicker said he would not run against Lieberman, a Democrat who ousted him from the Senate in 1988. That, however, didn't stop him from attacking the incumbent. Speaking at a Rotary Club luncheon, Weicker sharply criticized Lieberman and President Bush over the Iraq war. "I have seen this country propagandized into war," said Weicker, a Republican-turned-independent. "It's now a second wave...

WASHINGTON -- A draft immigration bill from Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter calls for dramatic increases in legal immigration, far beyond any of the other major proposals now before Congress.

Jim Kolbe to retire from Congress Associated Press Nov. 23, 2005 12:35 PM Veteran U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe has decided he won’t seek re-election in 2006, political associates said Wednesday. He will have served 22 years in the U.S. House by the time he steps down next year. The 63-year-old Arizona Republican has served in the House since 1985. He acknowledged in 1996 that is a homosexual. State Sen. Toni Hellon, R-Tucson, said Kolbe told her of his intentions during a telephone call Wednesday. “He wants to do other things,” she said. A second person who is a political associate...

Bass: 'It's time to govern from the middle' It's time for the Republican Party to re-examine itself, Rep. Charles Bass says. "I think that obviously, with the party's fortunes down, with the message clearly that most Americans would rather see a more moderate form of leadership in the country right now, then it's time to govern from the middle," Bass, R-N.H., told WBUR radio in Boston in an interview broadcast Monday. "That doesn't mean we do nothing," Bass said. "It just means we listen a little bit more." Bass spoke following divisions among the Republican-controlled Congress last week over budget...

Warwick, R.I. -- Liberal Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee refused to support President Bush in the last election, opposed the GOP tax cuts and was the only Republican to vote against the use of military force in Iraq, a war he has likened to Vietnam. So why, a year before the election, is the GOP embracing Chafee and spending close to $200,000 on television ads aimed at undercutting his conservative rival in the Republican primary, Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey? Like him or not, Republicans consider Chafee their best chance to win in heavily Democratic Rhode Island.

GRASSROOTSPA EXCLUSIVE: BOMBSHELL: SPECTER SLAMS CONSERVATIVES IN CAMPAIGN LETTER, ATTACKS PRO-LIFERS, CHRISTIANS Read The Letter HereSome choice quotes: -"I will not give up our Party to radical extremists without a fight." -Calls Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Pat Buchanan "extremists". -"I resent people like Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Pat Buchanan trying to give litmus tests to determine who can be a Republican candidate." -"I want to strip the strident anti-choice language" from the GOP party plank. -"Will you stand up to the far-right fringe that demands that legal abortion be banned?" -"We must demonstrate that the Republican Party is...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Gov. Bob Taft's already-feeble approval rating among Ohioans has fallen to 15 percent, a new poll indicates. The poll, conducted by The Columbus Dispatch, finds support for Taft lower than the three most unpopular U.S. presidents in the history of polling and possibly the lowest of any Ohio governor. The Republican governor's approval rating is worse than that of President Truman after he fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur, President Carter during the Iran hostage crisis or President Nixon during Watergate. Taft was convicted in August of four misdemeanor ethics convictions for failing to report gifts and golf...

WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives has approved a bill that includes a hate crimes amendment. That could make preaching or teaching against homosexuality a federal crime. It has gotten almost no news coverage, but critics say it poses a major threat to religious liberties. The Hate Crimes Amendment, by Michigan Democrat John Conyers, was attached to the Children's Safety Act last week. It would federalize local crimes if the suspected motive is animosity toward homosexuals or "transgender" persons. The amendment, which passed with the help of 30 Republicans, seems to have taken conservatives by surprise.Republican leaders explained that party...

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had wasted no time in grilling Roberts on one of the big issues of the day _ abortion _ and Roberts wasted no time in displaying his skills at the artful dodge. "Would you think that Roe might be a super-duper precedent?" Specter probed, pointing to times it has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Pressure To Pick Minority JusticeWASHINGTON -- President Bush faces renewed pressure to name a woman or non-white to the new Supreme Court vacancy - a choice that could ease a difficult confirmation process. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that two women on the court "are a minimum," adding, "My preference would be to see that kind of diversity maintained."

Senator wants improved Venezuela relations By WILLIAM C. MANN, Associated Press Writer (Published August 19‚ 2005) WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican senator asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday to lower his rhetoric against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to help win Venezuela's support for combating illegal narcotics. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. who met this week with Chavez, reminded Rumsfeld in a letter that the United States needs Venezuela's help for effective action against drug trafficking in South America. "In this context," the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman wrote, "it may well be helpful to, at least, have a moratorium on...

In a letter yesterday to Judge John G. Roberts Jr., Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said he plans to probe the Supreme Court nominee's interpretation of Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce, which has underpinned many civil rights, worker protection and environmental laws. The high court in recent years has scaled back that power by narrow conservative majorities. The Pennsylvania Republican said in the letter that he sees "a great deal of popular and congressional dissatisfaction with the judicial activism" that trimmed congressional authority under the Commerce Clause. Specter characterized lawmakers as "irate about the court's denigrating and, really,...

Political moderates predominate in the U.S. electorate, but the two parties are increasingly captives of their extremes. Will the moderates ever rise up and assert themselves? In the Republican Party, they ought to do so by defending Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) against right-wing attacks for bucking President Bush (and Christian conservatives) over embryonic stem-cell research. Republican moderates also ought to start speaking up for "emergency contraception" before the right makes banning it a litmus test of party loyalty. Someone in the GOP ought to tell Bush that "intelligent design" is not a true scientific theory on a par...

Culprits freshen up a bit at Kolbe's By Patti Lewis Posted: Monday, August 1, 2005 3:52 PM PDT Someone's running around dressed like a congressman. Rep. Jim Kolbe's house in Sonoita was burglarized July 23 by a suspected group of undocumented migrants, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Lt. Ramon Fuentes. The burglary was reported shortly after 5 p.m., when one of Kolbe's local friends noticed one of the home's doors was wide open. Sheriff's deputies, Patagonia Marshal's deputies and Border Patrol agents quickly responded. It quickly became apparent that the culprits weren't interested in big-ticket items, because electronics and other...

WASHINGTON — Sen. George Voinovich greeted the news of John Bolton's recess appointment by urging the Bush administration not to send Bolton to upcoming European Union meetings on Iran's reported nuclear proliferation. "I'd be real careful about who they send to represent us in terms of that issue," he said. Voinovich, who at times has been the lone Republican voice opposing Bolton's nomination, instead urged the Bush administration to consider sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the meetings this month. The EU3 — the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France — will give proposals to Iran on its...

Republican: GOP Revolution Dying on Washington D.C. Vine For decades conservative Republicans dreamed of controlling the White House and Congress. The rallying cry was “If only we had the power, we could revolutionize this country and end the era of big government.” Well, in January 2001, it finally happened and the GOP took control of Congress and the White House. Since that time, it has held total control, except for a 17-month period in 2001-02. Yet, not only has Washington D.C. not been revolutionized, but spending has skyrocketed, deficits have ballooned and government has never been bigger. What happened? It...

Gov. Pataki told a group of aides last night that he will not seek re-election next year — and alluded to a possible run for president in 2008 ............. .....the dinner was attended by about 30 people, including Pataki's wife, Libby, along with some of the governor's closest aides and supporters. They included state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long and Pataki fund-raiser Cathy Blaney. In recent months, Pataki has indicated an interest in testing the water for a potential 2008 presidential run, although state and national GOP leaders give him little chance of succeeding. People who attended the dinner said...

Three years after expressing support for ''the substance" of Roe v. Wade, Governor Mitt Romney today criticizes the landmark ruling that legalized abortion and says the states should decide separately whether to allow it. Romney outlines his abortion position in an opinion article today in The Boston Globe, a day after he vetoed a bill that would expand access to the so-called ''morning after" pill, a high dose of hormones that women can take to prevent pregnancy up to five days after sex. In a written response to a questionnaire for candidates in 2002, Romney told Planned Parenthood that he...

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said yesterday that he was considering pushing for the creation of a commission to investigate the administration's incarceration policies at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. "I'm giving serious thought to [a commission]. ... It's a strong measure," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "But the 9/11 commission found out a lot of things that the congressional committees couldn't find out."

Independents, Democrats get call Governor Mitt Romney, who touts his conservative credentials to out-of-state Republicans, has passed over GOP lawyers for three-quarters of the 36 judicial vacancies he has faced, instead tapping registered Democrats or independents -- including two gay lawyers who have supported expanded same-sex rights, a Globe review of the nominations has found. Of the 36 people Romney named to be judges or clerk magistrates, 23 are either registered Democrats or unenrolled voters who have made multiple contributions to Democratic politicians or who voted in Democratic primaries, state and local records show. In all, he has nominated nine...

Gov. Pataki made a good personal impression in Iowa this weekend, but Republican leaders say he has a long way to go before he can think about winning the 2008 presidential caucus. The biggest hurdles.....he is still not well-known and ......and must defend his pro-choice, pro-gay rights and pro-gun control record, Iowa Republican county chairs and opinion makers say. "Those three things are no-nos," said Scott County GOP Vice Chairman John Ortega, who, as a member of the state central committee, met with Pataki and was impressed with him. David Yepsen, an influential political columnist for the Des Moines Register,...

The chairman of the Senate panel that will oversee hearings on President Bush's Supreme Court nominee said yesterday that he would like to see someone in the tradition of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and perhaps someone with experience in politics. Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said he didn't want to recommend a specific candidate because of his role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But he said he would like to see a nominee who has experience outside the judiciary, which would rule out many of the candidates that Mr. Bush is said to be considering. The candidates...

...HUME:Question to you, sir: Should this next nominee be required to answer questions in the areas where Ruth Bader Ginsburg (search) did not? SPECTER: Without getting into the details as to what Justice Ginsburg answered, I think it inappropriate for a nominee to give an answer specifically as to how he or she would decide a specific case. When someone uses a word like "insist," that's a pretty strong word, and no senator has the power to insist that anything happen. A senator can ask any question that the senator wants to ask, but then it's up to the nominee...

Illegal-alien amnesties blocked ... 1. VICTORY ... No amnesties passed The best news is that none of the amendments passed that would have provided amnesty to illegal aliens! In fact, none of those were even allowed to come up for a vote among the scores of amendments that did. That was our top hope. Our NumbersUSA Capitol Hill Team had felt that if Senate offices heard enough of an outcry from their constituents this week Senate leaders would conclude that big amnesty bills were far too controversial to try to bring up on this bill. Our sources indicated that Senate...

Republican congreesional members' constituents care more about immigration and border security than any othe issue, according to a new congressional insiders poll.Seventeeen of the 37 Republican House and Senate members who responded to the National Journal's survey identified immigration as the issue "most on the minds of your consituents these days." That easily topped the next closest issue, the economy, which gained 10 votes, followed by gasoline prices with four votes and terrorism with threee votes.One Republican called immigration the "highest-octane issue in America," while another said, "It is here that the mismatch between the federal government's inaction and the...

Gay-rights opponent Santorum stands by outed aide BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The senior spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum, R- Pa., Friday confirmed to a web log that he is gay. According to PageOneQ, an online gay and lesbian publication, director of communications Robert L. Traynham, said that he was an "out gay man who completely supports the senator." Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate leadership has been an outspoken opponent of homosexual rights and a leading proponent of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Santorum, who was traveling in Pittsburgh, released the following...

WASHINGTON - Four female senators called Thursday for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to stay on the court and try for chief justice if the ailing William Rehnquist steps down. In a letter to O'Connor, Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Barbara Boxer of California asked the nation's first female justice to consider staying on the high court if Chief Justice Rehnquist relinquishes the top spot. Rehnquist was discharged Thursday after two nights in the hospital for treatment of a fever. O'Connor announced her retirement on July 1, but...

When seven Democrats and seven Republicans joined in the Senate to avert a showdown on President Bush's judicial nominees, they urged the president to remember the word "advice" in the Constitution's advice and consent clause. Now that Mr. Bush is consulting with leading senators on a Supreme Court vacancy, the so-called Gang of 14 is patting itself on the back. "The word 'advice' was buried in history," declared Senator John Warner, Republican of Virginia, a chief architect of the deal... That may have been the easy part. With the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - and renewed speculation that...