WP: Right Using Recusal Question Against Gonzales

[kskiska]

White House Counsel, Attorney General Roles Cited as Possible Hindrance as a Justice

Thursday, July 14, 2005; A08

White House officials weighing the nomination of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to the Supreme Court are considering whether a federal ethics law would require him to sit out cases of critical importance to the Bush administration once he was on the court, according to Republican sources who have discussed the issue with administration officials.

The intensified review of Gonzales's record is partly a reaction to pressure from activist conservatives, who in recent days have switched from arguing that Gonzales is ideologically unreliable to asserting that he would have to disqualify himself whenever issues he worked on in the Bush administration came before the court.

Anytime a justice recuses, there is the possibility of a 4 to 4 tie, automatically affirming the lower court's judgment.

Much of the White House review focuses on anti-terrorism policy, of which Gonzales was an architect while serving as White House counsel. But social issues Gonzales has dealt with as attorney general, such as assisted suicide and abortion rights, are also at stake.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302165.html

[merwin]

1. By 'activist conservatives' do they mean far right or more center?

[More Than A Feeling]

2. Cool, Gonzalez might get taken down before we even get to him

I am excited about that possibility. Losing Gonzalez would force Bush to offer up a super-loony, more so. Making it that much easier for our blogs to tear whoever it is to shreds and show the american people the true character of Bush and the Crypto-Theo-Fascists. For my money, you can't have too much of that sort of thing. Then we can take that one down, and Bush will have even more egg on his face, the CTFs will hate him even more for being ineffective, and he won't be a lame duck, he'll be completely finished.