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Supreme Speculation: White House Prepares For Court Battle
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| Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is considered to be on President Barack Obama’s short list to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. (Al Goldis/Associated Press) |
By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin
The Obama administration is bringing in a heavy hitter to orchestrate behind-the-scenes negotiations as it prepares for an explosive debate over who should replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
The news came while Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D, a former state attorney general on the president’s short list, visited Washington on business unrelated to the Supreme Court yesterday.
It is being reported the White House is tapping Stephanie Cutter, the point person who guided U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, to mobilize public and political support for whomever Mr. Obama nominates. News Ms. Cutter is joining the nomination effort signals President Barack Obama is anticipating a bruising fight over the vacant seat.
Since the days of Earl Warren, the modern U.S. Supreme Court has been an instrument of social change capable of remaking U.S. culture. Because its members are unelected and serve life terms, conservatives and liberals view the court as a key institution for crafting social policy.
This time, however, the issue of the day is not integration, slavery or prayer in school. Instead, the debate over the nominee seeking to replace Mr. Souter will likely focus on abortion.
Mr. Obama has struggled with the abortion issue, unable to balance his extensive pro-abortion record with a majority of the nation’s pro-life demeanor.
The president, therefore, has stumbled through the issue by saying abortion was above his “pay grade” and promising to find “common ground” only to rescind pro-life measures supported by the majority of the nation.
He has developed a trend where his abortion rhetoric has not lined up with his policy decisions, a trend Mr. Obama continued on Sunday while speaking at the University of Notre Dame’s graduation ceremony.
“I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” Mr. Obama said.
“Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it — indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory — the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”
The president asked the public to approach the issue with “Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words.”
Pro-life advocates are reminding the public those topping Mr. Obama’s short list are anything but open-minded on the issue, as the president prepares to unveil his nominee.
Mrs. Granholm, a non-judge considered to be in the judicial running, visited Washington yesterday for an unrelated event. Her visit provided a glimpse of what a future Supreme Court debate would look like inside, and outside, the Beltway.
A pro-abortion governor, Mrs. Granholm was criticized for vetoing a partial birth abortion bill that mirrored the federal ban upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The procedure involves a doctor partial delivering a child so that all but the head is left in the birth canal. At this point scissors are used to pierce the back of the child’s skull so the child can be terminated.
Mrs. Granholm reasoned the veto was based on the fact a health provision was not included in the legislation, but medical professionals testified the procedure is never necessary to protect the health of the mother.
The Michigan Democrat also vetoed the “Legal Birth Definition Act,” a measure that would have outlawed partial birth abortion by granting full legal protection to the child as soon as any part of his body emerges from the mother.
While she has never served as a judge, some believe her lack of judicial experience could be her only saving grace.
“Although some doubts about her suitability for the High Court are raised by her lack of scholarly legal writing, that may actually work in her favor by giving critics less material with which to evaluate her judicial reasoning,” said Curt Levey, executive director of Committee for Justice.
But Mrs. Granholm is not the only contender to fill Mr. Souter’s shoes. Pro-life advocates say others on the short list also have records of letting their pro-abortion ideology impact their decision making process.
“With the bully pulpit of the presidency, Congress, and the media under the control of liberals, the American people are getting a giant deception about the liberal judicial activist philosophy of nominees floated as frontrunners,” said Wendy Long, spokeswoman for the Judicial Confirmation Network.
“They are not moderates or centrists; they hard-left activists who would decide cases based on their feelings and their personal political agendas.”
Specifically, JCN points to U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan.; Diane Wood, a federal judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Sonia Sotomayor, a federal judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
JCN says three leading female nominees have a long record of injecting their liberal ideology into their judicial decisions. The group says the frontrunners give a glimpse of Mr. Obama’s true intentions.
In web videos released to educate the public, JCN said Ms. Kagan kicked the military off Harvard Law’s campus; Ms. Wood ruled pro-life protesters were equivalent to mob bosses; and Ms. Sotomayor did not give a fair shake to firefighters denied a promotion because of race.
With Mr. Obama flirting with left-wing nominees and conservatives showing signs they will not shy from a fight, Ms. Cutter must now begin to collect votes in the U.S. Senate. It is anticipated Mr. Obama will make his announcement later this month or early June before he travels to Egypt.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
The news came while Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D, a former state attorney general on the president’s short list, visited Washington on business unrelated to the Supreme Court yesterday.
It is being reported the White House is tapping Stephanie Cutter, the point person who guided U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, to mobilize public and political support for whomever Mr. Obama nominates. News Ms. Cutter is joining the nomination effort signals President Barack Obama is anticipating a bruising fight over the vacant seat.
Since the days of Earl Warren, the modern U.S. Supreme Court has been an instrument of social change capable of remaking U.S. culture. Because its members are unelected and serve life terms, conservatives and liberals view the court as a key institution for crafting social policy.
This time, however, the issue of the day is not integration, slavery or prayer in school. Instead, the debate over the nominee seeking to replace Mr. Souter will likely focus on abortion.
Mr. Obama has struggled with the abortion issue, unable to balance his extensive pro-abortion record with a majority of the nation’s pro-life demeanor.
The president, therefore, has stumbled through the issue by saying abortion was above his “pay grade” and promising to find “common ground” only to rescind pro-life measures supported by the majority of the nation.
He has developed a trend where his abortion rhetoric has not lined up with his policy decisions, a trend Mr. Obama continued on Sunday while speaking at the University of Notre Dame’s graduation ceremony.
“I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” Mr. Obama said.
“Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it — indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory — the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”
The president asked the public to approach the issue with “Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words.”
Pro-life advocates are reminding the public those topping Mr. Obama’s short list are anything but open-minded on the issue, as the president prepares to unveil his nominee.
Mrs. Granholm, a non-judge considered to be in the judicial running, visited Washington yesterday for an unrelated event. Her visit provided a glimpse of what a future Supreme Court debate would look like inside, and outside, the Beltway.
A pro-abortion governor, Mrs. Granholm was criticized for vetoing a partial birth abortion bill that mirrored the federal ban upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The procedure involves a doctor partial delivering a child so that all but the head is left in the birth canal. At this point scissors are used to pierce the back of the child’s skull so the child can be terminated.
Mrs. Granholm reasoned the veto was based on the fact a health provision was not included in the legislation, but medical professionals testified the procedure is never necessary to protect the health of the mother.
The Michigan Democrat also vetoed the “Legal Birth Definition Act,” a measure that would have outlawed partial birth abortion by granting full legal protection to the child as soon as any part of his body emerges from the mother.
While she has never served as a judge, some believe her lack of judicial experience could be her only saving grace.
“Although some doubts about her suitability for the High Court are raised by her lack of scholarly legal writing, that may actually work in her favor by giving critics less material with which to evaluate her judicial reasoning,” said Curt Levey, executive director of Committee for Justice.
But Mrs. Granholm is not the only contender to fill Mr. Souter’s shoes. Pro-life advocates say others on the short list also have records of letting their pro-abortion ideology impact their decision making process.
“With the bully pulpit of the presidency, Congress, and the media under the control of liberals, the American people are getting a giant deception about the liberal judicial activist philosophy of nominees floated as frontrunners,” said Wendy Long, spokeswoman for the Judicial Confirmation Network.
“They are not moderates or centrists; they hard-left activists who would decide cases based on their feelings and their personal political agendas.”
Specifically, JCN points to U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan.; Diane Wood, a federal judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Sonia Sotomayor, a federal judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
JCN says three leading female nominees have a long record of injecting their liberal ideology into their judicial decisions. The group says the frontrunners give a glimpse of Mr. Obama’s true intentions.
In web videos released to educate the public, JCN said Ms. Kagan kicked the military off Harvard Law’s campus; Ms. Wood ruled pro-life protesters were equivalent to mob bosses; and Ms. Sotomayor did not give a fair shake to firefighters denied a promotion because of race.
With Mr. Obama flirting with left-wing nominees and conservatives showing signs they will not shy from a fight, Ms. Cutter must now begin to collect votes in the U.S. Senate. It is anticipated Mr. Obama will make his announcement later this month or early June before he travels to Egypt.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
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