POLL: Does nominating Roberts for Chief Justice help or hurt odds

[yurbud]

of confirmation?

Per form, rather than backing down, Bush upped the ante.

You have to at least at admire their balls. But will it work?

[msongs]

1. a bully will bully until somebody fights back nt

[mattclearing]

2. I think people will want to limit Bush's lasting effects now.

And one way to do that is to scuttle his ultra-right wing justices.

[katmondoo]

3. Scuttle one and then he appoints another and another etc,etc

[mattclearing]

5. Until we get a non-psycho or he leaves. n/t

[terrya]

4. Moveon.org is, I imagine, kicking into high gear now.

I'm calling my Senators tomorrow about filibustering this nomination.

Bush has dropped in the polls. His approval ratings are the lowest in his Presidency.

Drag this fucking nomination into 2006, as far as I'm concerned.

[punpirate]

6. Ultimately, despite Roberts' obvious bias and his...

... lackadaisical interest in professional ethics, he'll be confirmed for only one reason--Democrats paradoxically fear loss of filibuster rules and so, therefore, won't filibuster.

There's enough now not to recommend Roberts. His most recent ethical lapse (not recusing himself from an administration case while at the same time being interviewed by the administration for a SC position) is more than sufficient for his nomination to go down in flames, and in perfunctory fashion... in ordinary times.

But, these are not ordinary times.

[cascadiance]

7. Chief Justice would oversee the congress in impeachment trial...

Bush will want to try and get his own nominee in there to protect himself if impeachment happens. Although Scalia or Thomas would likely not be any worse for him. Perhaps we can figure a way to force his hand to put O'Connor in as chief justice, though I think he'd resist that heavily, with her not likely to try and overturn Roe v. Wade, and therefore not his choice to be chief justice.

On the other hand, now with an 8 person court and Stevens being the default chief justice on existing business (like hearing and deciding upon Sibel Edmonds' case), perhaps he'd prefer to get O'Connor in as chief justice over Stevens if Dems play hardball and fillibuster everything else until he lets that happen. Then I could see the Dems allowing Roberts if O'Connor is given chief justice slot through to maybe say 2007 (which would allow time for her to oversee an impeachment trial if it were to happen). But at that point, if there is a Democratic Congress, O'Connor's replacement would have to be more mainstream or else get rejected (without the nuclear option threat).

Of course Rethugs still could try and go nuclear now to overcome any fillibustering the Dems would try to do to keep Bush's nominees from going through, but that could be depicted as violating the deal they cut earlier, and help the Dems in 2006 that much more retake congress.