WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will select U.S. Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr. to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the nation's highest court, CNN has learned.
Two sources, including a Senate Judiciary Committee source, said Roberts will be Bush's choice when the president makes a formal announcement in a nationwide address at 9 p.m. ET.
So who the heck is John Roberts?
One thing I will say here, and that is that the White House PR machine has been wrestle control of the news away from the Valerie Plame / Karl Rove scandal with this show-blitzy, prime-time, Supreme Court announcement. Of course, Bush and Roberts will be standing together in solidarity for the TV and press photographers. The White House could not have a better public relations story to divert attention away from the Karl Rove scandal. For the next two weeks, the press is going to be busy digging through John Roberts' past to figure out who this guy is and what is views are--especially concerning abortion.
The CNN biography on Robers is as continued:
Roberts, who serves on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, took the bench in 2003 after his confirmation was held up for months by Senate Democrats.
This tells me that Roberts confirmation on the court of appeals was filibustered. Roberts may not have been as controversial as Janice Rogers-Brown, but his views will be staunchly conservative. He is not a Sandra Day O'Conner moderate.
From 1982 to 1986, he worked in the White House counsel's office, then at Hogan & Hartson law firm, and from 1989 to 1993 was the principal deputy solicitor general for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Roberts, 50, also clerked in 1980 and 1981 for Justice William Rehnquist before he was elevated to chief justice.
Roberts clerked for Rehnquist. Enough said there.
Roberts has argued 33 cases before the high court. He is considered by some a brilliant appellate lawyer who has impressed many in his work so far as a judge. He is a 1979 graduate of Harvard's Law School.
Two prominent liberal advocacy groups -- NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Alliance for Justice -- opposed Roberts' nomination because of the positions he argued as an advocate for the Reagan and first Bush administrations.
NARAL alleged that Roberts had actively worked to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that struck down state laws outlawing abortion.
The Alliance for Justice criticized Roberts for his arguments against the use of racial considerations by the public sector, known by its supporters as affirmative action.
Let's face it. The White House is trying to push a hard-lined ideologue down our throats. What makes Roberts an ideal choice is that this ideologue doesn't have the extensive judicial record of decision-making in court cases that the Senate Democrats can pick through. It is not a bad strategy--push an unknown ideologue, while masking him as a moderate with an extensive White House PR campaign.
The Religious Right-wingers will certainly support Roberts. In a CNN story giving the reaction to Roberts nomination,
Brian McCabe, president of conservative group Progress for America, opined that Roberts is "a man of great character who deserves genuine consideration and not automatic attacks and partisan indignation."
While the Senate Democrats have this to say about Roberts in the same CNN story:
But a spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid had a less enthusiastic reaction, saying Roberts has "suitable legal credentials." Spokesman Jim Manley said Roberts, a law clerk for then Justice William Rehnquist, "needs to demonstrate to the Senate that he has a commitment to core American values of freedom, equality and fairness."
In short, there will be a bitter partisan fight on the Senate floor. There is no way Roberts will be swiftly confirmed--even if the Republicans try to set up a swift confirmation hearings for September. If the confirmation hearings are set up for August, that will only give the Democrats more time to pound Roberts for his opinion on every possible legal issue. Expect a filibuster showdown to take place in the Senate--a filibuster showdown that will not be diverted by moderate senators from either party.
What a lousy choice.
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