Posted on 04/15/2010 2:09:25 PM PDT by seanmerc
WASHINGTON -- The forthcoming departure of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is a great loss to the country, especially to progressives.
Stevens, a Republican, was appointed to the high court in 1975 by President Gerald Ford. Over the next 35 years, he grew in office and eventually adopted liberal views about the death penalty, abortion rights, protection of gay rights and curbing executive power.
Stevens is brilliant, eloquent, outspoken and unafraid to change his mind, as evidenced by some of his votes on the court. He voted in favor of affirmative action, after first questioning it. He declared that the death penalty was unconstitutional, after first voting to support it.
One of his outstanding lectures was titled: “Learning on the Job.”
In the 2000 Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore, Stevens blasted his conservative court colleagues for blocking a decision by the Florida Supreme Court ordering a recount of the state’s presidential vote. That U.S. Supreme Court decision ultimately gave the election to George W. Bush.
In a stinging dissent, Stevens said the majority decision to block the recount brought into question public confidence in the integrity of the state judges who would oversee a recount.
”Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear,” Stevens wrote. “It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”
It was no sweat for President Barack Obama to name U.S. appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor as his first appointee to the Supreme Court and thus create a “Hispanic seat.”
Six of the justices are Roman Catholics, two are Jewish and one (Stevens) is Protestant. So it looks like a court nominee’s religion is no longer an issue.
But ideology is and that could present the president with a real dilemma as he seeks to replace Stevens. Obama’s tendency is to avoid a fight, play ball, go along to get along, especially after the prolonged ordeal to pass his emasculated health-care reform legislation.
He is acutely aware that right wingers who just say ‘’no” to everything are going to closely examine his nominee with microscopes and fine-tooth combs in their hunt for any evidence of liberal values.
Talk of a possible appointment of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the high court was quickly knocked down by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Other contenders apparently are Elena Kagan, the solicitor general, who is viewed as a moderate; Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia -- not the type to upset the apple cart-- and Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.
The president is getting lots of advice from legal scholars and pundits. He plans to meet next week with the leaders of both Democratic and Republican parties to seek their advice .
It’s a defining moment to judge Obama for his character and courage in making this momentous choice for the high court. That appointment will very likely last longer than his presidency.
Let’s hope he doesn’t go wobbly on us.
Yoo-hoo, Helen Thomas ping list members! Here's the latest in liberal lunacy from our intrepid journalist.
he needs to appoint a liberal to balance the extremely moderate Sonia Sotomayor
sarc
Even with all of her rich life experiences?
When you are a Republican and adopt liberal policies - you grow. When you are a liberal and adopt constitutional policies, you are vilified.
Gives our Republican president in 2013 a chance at filling that seat with a conservative.
OMG who is sculpter did that he must be blind not realize how ugly Helen is remind me of Lionel Ritchie Hello video LOL!
I don’t get it - the picture of the dog as a gunner.
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