Le Jacquelope
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to say that she got herself into this mess by voting for Dubya?
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_bush_15
Battle Over Nominee May Center on Abortion
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 20, 9:59 AM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush urged lawmakers Wednesday to give Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts "a timely hearing, a fair hearing" during a Senate confirmation battle that both sides expect to center on abortion.
"We will push the process forward," Bush said, joined at the White House by Roberts on steps outside his office after the pair had breakfast. Both he and Roberts said they believe he should be sworn before the new court term begins in October.
Abortion, a polarizing issue for lawmakers, will be the "hot button" issue in the confirmation battle, conceded Fred Thompson, the former senator who will shepherd Roberts through the Senate. But Thompson cautioned lawmakers not to read too much into Roberts' seemingly conflicting legal positions on
Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
"Many of the positions he's taken are positions he took as an advocate ... representing a client," said Thompson, whom Bush has asked to take charge of helping Roberts through the advice-and-consent process.
Democrats will demand "straight answers" from Roberts on the abortion issue, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will holding hearings on the nomination, said Wednesday.
"If he wants to be on the Supreme Court, he has to be more forthcoming .... to convince the American people that a man who could serve on the court for 20 to 30 years really is in the mainstream of American thinking," he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada praised Roberts's resume and qualifications.
And "by all accounts he is a very nice man. I look forward to meeting him," Reid said. "But while these are important qualities, they do not automatically qualify John Roberts to serve on the highest court in the land. Nor does the fact that he was confirmed to serve on the court of appeals mean that he is entitled to be promoted."
Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, promised "full, fair and complete" hearings on the nomination and said he was disappointed that some liberal organizations view Roberts as unsuitable over the issue of abortion. He said the panel will go into Roberts' legal positions "in detail" but would not ask the judge how he would rule as a Supreme Court justice.
Specter, however, said he felt it within bounds to ask Roberts about his previous statement that Roe v. Wade was settled law. "If he said it's settled law, it would be relevant to confirm the fact that has been said," Specter said.
Bush ignored reporters' questions about whether he would talk to Democratic senators who worry that Roberts would push the nation's highest court too far to the right on abortion and other issues.
He said conversations with senators the evening before had convinced him that "we're off to a very good start for his nomination" and promised Roberts "all the support that's necessary for the senators to be able to make up their minds."
"We discussed how important it is for Judge Roberts to get a fair hearing, a timely hearing and a hearing that will bring great credit to our nation," Bush said. "I wish him all the best."
After his meeting with Bush, Roberts headed to Capitol Hill for meetings with leaders in the Senate, which will decide whether he will replace retiring Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor and thus become the first new Supreme Court member in more than a decade.
He might have seen several hundred women who were marching in front of the Supreme Court, which faces the east front of the U.S. Capitol, carrying signs that said, "Save Roe!" and "Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide!"
Democrats' concern over Roberts' abortion views stem from two seemingly contradictory positions that Roberts took on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
In a brief that he filed with the Supreme Court while serving as deputy solicitor general in the administration of the first President Bush, Roberts said that Roe v. Wade "was wrongly decided and should be overruled." But he told senators during his 2003 confirmation hearings for his current appellate court post that the decision was "the settled law of the land."
Thompson said the administration expected lawmakers to ask tough questions about Roberts' abortion views. But he also said they should distinguish between Roberts' role as a policy advocate as a one-time deputy solicitor general in a Republican administration and his contrasting role as a jurist.
"It's not a question of whose side he's on," Thompson said. "He's on the side of the litigant that comes into court with the facts and the law on their side. And he will not be prejudging any cases before the committee or anyone else."
Bush introduced the 50-year-old Roberts to the nation Tuesday night, calling him a man with "a good heart" and a jurist who will "strictly apply the Constitution in laws — not legislate from the bench."
Reaction from Republican senators was overwhelmingly supportive.
Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee called for confirmation proceedings that "treat Judge Roberts with dignity and respect" and lead to a yes or no vote before the court's term begins Oct 3.
Specter said he preferred to have hearings to start in September, after using the August recess to vet the nominee.
Conservative interest groups were elated, saying the president kept a campaign promise to nominate someone akin to conservative Justices
Clarence Thomas and
Antonin Scalia. Liberal groups, meanwhile, expressed concerns about Roberts' views on abortion, religious freedom, environmental protections and the First Amendment.
While he lacks national name recognition, the Harvard-educated Roberts is a Washington insider who has worked over the years at the White House, Justice Department and in private practice.
Roberts was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and raised in Long Beach, Ind., outside Gary. He was high school class president, captain of his football team and worked summers at a steel mill, where his father was an electrical engineer, to help pay his way through college
After graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, he clerked for William H. Rehnquist when he was an associate justice on the Supreme Court. It was Rehnquist who presided over the swearing-in ceremony when Roberts took his seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
He was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1992 by the first President Bush and again by the president in 2001. The nominations died in the Senate both times. He was renominated in January 2003 and was confirmed by voice vote. At the time, his nomination to the appellate court attracted support from both sides of the ideological spectrum.
Liberal advocacy groups like the People for the American Way immediately began challenging Roberts' judicial views. The group sent out "emergency alerts" to more than 400,000 supporters, telling them to contact their senators posthaste and ask them to withhold judgment on Roberts until after the confirmation hearings are completed.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_bush_15
Battle Over Nominee May Center on Abortion
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 20, 9:59 AM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush urged lawmakers Wednesday to give Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts "a timely hearing, a fair hearing" during a Senate confirmation battle that both sides expect to center on abortion.
"We will push the process forward," Bush said, joined at the White House by Roberts on steps outside his office after the pair had breakfast. Both he and Roberts said they believe he should be sworn before the new court term begins in October.
Abortion, a polarizing issue for lawmakers, will be the "hot button" issue in the confirmation battle, conceded Fred Thompson, the former senator who will shepherd Roberts through the Senate. But Thompson cautioned lawmakers not to read too much into Roberts' seemingly conflicting legal positions on
Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
"Many of the positions he's taken are positions he took as an advocate ... representing a client," said Thompson, whom Bush has asked to take charge of helping Roberts through the advice-and-consent process.
Democrats will demand "straight answers" from Roberts on the abortion issue, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will holding hearings on the nomination, said Wednesday.
"If he wants to be on the Supreme Court, he has to be more forthcoming .... to convince the American people that a man who could serve on the court for 20 to 30 years really is in the mainstream of American thinking," he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada praised Roberts's resume and qualifications.
And "by all accounts he is a very nice man. I look forward to meeting him," Reid said. "But while these are important qualities, they do not automatically qualify John Roberts to serve on the highest court in the land. Nor does the fact that he was confirmed to serve on the court of appeals mean that he is entitled to be promoted."
Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, promised "full, fair and complete" hearings on the nomination and said he was disappointed that some liberal organizations view Roberts as unsuitable over the issue of abortion. He said the panel will go into Roberts' legal positions "in detail" but would not ask the judge how he would rule as a Supreme Court justice.
Specter, however, said he felt it within bounds to ask Roberts about his previous statement that Roe v. Wade was settled law. "If he said it's settled law, it would be relevant to confirm the fact that has been said," Specter said.
Bush ignored reporters' questions about whether he would talk to Democratic senators who worry that Roberts would push the nation's highest court too far to the right on abortion and other issues.
He said conversations with senators the evening before had convinced him that "we're off to a very good start for his nomination" and promised Roberts "all the support that's necessary for the senators to be able to make up their minds."
"We discussed how important it is for Judge Roberts to get a fair hearing, a timely hearing and a hearing that will bring great credit to our nation," Bush said. "I wish him all the best."
After his meeting with Bush, Roberts headed to Capitol Hill for meetings with leaders in the Senate, which will decide whether he will replace retiring Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor and thus become the first new Supreme Court member in more than a decade.
He might have seen several hundred women who were marching in front of the Supreme Court, which faces the east front of the U.S. Capitol, carrying signs that said, "Save Roe!" and "Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide!"
Democrats' concern over Roberts' abortion views stem from two seemingly contradictory positions that Roberts took on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
In a brief that he filed with the Supreme Court while serving as deputy solicitor general in the administration of the first President Bush, Roberts said that Roe v. Wade "was wrongly decided and should be overruled." But he told senators during his 2003 confirmation hearings for his current appellate court post that the decision was "the settled law of the land."
Thompson said the administration expected lawmakers to ask tough questions about Roberts' abortion views. But he also said they should distinguish between Roberts' role as a policy advocate as a one-time deputy solicitor general in a Republican administration and his contrasting role as a jurist.
"It's not a question of whose side he's on," Thompson said. "He's on the side of the litigant that comes into court with the facts and the law on their side. And he will not be prejudging any cases before the committee or anyone else."
Bush introduced the 50-year-old Roberts to the nation Tuesday night, calling him a man with "a good heart" and a jurist who will "strictly apply the Constitution in laws — not legislate from the bench."
Reaction from Republican senators was overwhelmingly supportive.
Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee called for confirmation proceedings that "treat Judge Roberts with dignity and respect" and lead to a yes or no vote before the court's term begins Oct 3.
Specter said he preferred to have hearings to start in September, after using the August recess to vet the nominee.
Conservative interest groups were elated, saying the president kept a campaign promise to nominate someone akin to conservative Justices
Clarence Thomas and
Antonin Scalia. Liberal groups, meanwhile, expressed concerns about Roberts' views on abortion, religious freedom, environmental protections and the First Amendment.
While he lacks national name recognition, the Harvard-educated Roberts is a Washington insider who has worked over the years at the White House, Justice Department and in private practice.
Roberts was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and raised in Long Beach, Ind., outside Gary. He was high school class president, captain of his football team and worked summers at a steel mill, where his father was an electrical engineer, to help pay his way through college
After graduating with honors from Harvard Law School, he clerked for William H. Rehnquist when he was an associate justice on the Supreme Court. It was Rehnquist who presided over the swearing-in ceremony when Roberts took his seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
He was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1992 by the first President Bush and again by the president in 2001. The nominations died in the Senate both times. He was renominated in January 2003 and was confirmed by voice vote. At the time, his nomination to the appellate court attracted support from both sides of the ideological spectrum.
Liberal advocacy groups like the People for the American Way immediately began challenging Roberts' judicial views. The group sent out "emergency alerts" to more than 400,000 supporters, telling them to contact their senators posthaste and ask them to withhold judgment on Roberts until after the confirmation hearings are completed.
