Friday, July 01, 2005

O'Connor retirement

As you probably have heard, Justice O'Connor announced her retirement in a letter sent to Pres. Bush earlier today. This will be the first Supreme Court vacancy since Justice Breyer's appointment in 1994, but the 87-9 confirmation vote he received won't happen this time around.

Drudge Report has a set of links to reactions, including the nutters at MoveOn.org ramping up quickly for the confirmation fight and the President's futile request that this process be dignified. No chance.

And the President's choice to NOT name a successor until after the G-8 summit will only add to the theorizing, highchair banging and useless speculation that's already going on from Kos to NRO

Rush Limbaugh (who I listened to for the first time in about 4 years earlier today) was right: the President and his people have known about the rampant some-Justice-will-step-down speculation since at LEAST the election last November. He could have had in place a successor the day a justice (Rehnquist or O'Connor) said s/he would retire. This delay merely helps bollix up the process.

I'll have more thoughts later on O'Connor's solipsistic jurisprudence and why her incrementalism has done more harm than good.

My personal favorites for replacing her, who actually have a chance of being nominated (read: are minority or female): Emilio Garza, Edith Jones, Edith Brown Clement (all 5th Circuit); Wallace Jefferson (Tex. S. Ct.), Janice Rogers Brown, Miguel Estrada. My guess: Alberto Gonzales or Clement.

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