Confirm Them reports that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will step down within four weeks. Rehnquist is battling cancer, and his long-term odds aren’t all that good. Rehnquist’s been an accomplished jurist and an excellent public servant, and the Court will be losing a great Chief Justice when he steps down.
The article points out Judge Michael W. McConnell as a possible replacement. McConnell is one of several strong contenders to be either an associate or Chief Justice. The question is how contentious the political fight in getting a qualified justice confirmed will be. The Democrats have promised that they will only filibuster a judicial nominee under “extreme circumstances” — which of course means that any judicial nominee who is remotely religious or doesn’t meet their strict liberal litmus test will face quite an uphill battle.
The Dems have little to gain by making a big to-do about Rehnquist’s replacement. We all know what’s gonna happen. Bush will nominate the judicial equivalent of John Bolton, the most radical right-wing madman he can find who wears a black robe into American courts, and bait the Democrats into breaking their end of the filibuster deal. Even though 60% of Americans are likely to oppose Bush’s SCJ nominee, Democrats will still lose the PR battle if they attempt to filibuster.
The worst-case scenario is that another conservative rubber stamp will replace the existing conservative rubber stamp Rehnquist. The Democrats would be well-advised to “respectfully disagree” with Bush’s nomination and vote against him with a 40+ margin…..and then save the real fight for when O’Connor retires.