Post by Gary Holder-Winfield on Jul 4, 2005 7:47:21 GMT -5
Should we automatically move to our respective political corners and brace for a battle? Or should we base a fight on the need for one? Well it seems we are bracing for a fight even not knowing who the nominee is.
AM - Lobbyists prepare for Supreme Court battle
[This is the print version of story www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1406144.htm]
AM - Monday, 4 July , 2005 08:21:42
Reporter: Leigh Sales
TONY EASTLEY: US President George W. Bush has been given an unexpected chance to further shape the style of his nation's Supreme Court, with the surprise retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court bench.
But he's facing growing calls to appoint a centrist to replace Ms O'Connor.
Republicans and Democrats are already gearing up for a major political fight over a successor.
Justice O'Connor's decision to retire caught people by surprise, as most thought the next vacancy would be that of the conservative Chief Justice, William Rehnquist, who has thyroid cancer.
The make-up of the Supreme Court in the United States is critical, because many of the most controversial issues in the nation end up there.
North America Correspondent Leigh Sales reports.
LEIGH SALES: The lobbying over Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement started the second her retirement became public information.
Justice O'Connor has had the deciding vote on the Supreme Court on many controversial issues, and that means her departure could drastically alter the balance on the bench, depending who President Bush decides to appoint in her place.
Conservative lobby groups are pressuring the White House to select one of their preferred candidates.
One thing they've been angry about in recent years is their perception that American courts are activist, and they want that brought to an end.
C. Boyden Gray is with the Committee for Justice.
C. BOYDEN GRAY: We believe this is the job of the legislature, not the judiciary. We think that the President should appoint someone who will interpret, not make up the law… that he is entitled to put on the bench someone who is in the mainstream of where Republican presidents have been for 25 years.
LEIGH SALES: Liberals are calling for a consensus vote. By that they mean somebody who Democrats can support without too much difficulty.
They know they're going to be presented with a conservative, but as long as the person's not considered extreme, they say they'll cooperate. At least, that's what they're promising at this early stage.
Nan Aron is with the Alliance for Justice.
NAN ARON: We believe that it's important for the country for President Bush to name a candidate who respects individual rights, who accepts the progress we've made as a country and will take us forward, not backward, and will make decisions that serve in the interests of all Americans and not just side with special interests.
LEIGH SALES: The President will be busy at the G8 this week, so he's not expected to announce his nominee until after that.
Members of Congress will then have to confirm his choice.
This year, the Congress hurt its public standing because of the clumsy way it handled the debate about Terri Schiavo – the severely brain damaged Florida woman whose family used the courts to decide whether her feeding tube could be withdrawn.
The Congress has a chance to redeem itself with the Supreme Court nomination process if it can handle the highly-charged situation in a dignified way.
For their part, Republican senators deny they're looking for a conservative ideologue, saying their first priority is to get a judge who's intellectual, fair-minded and a person of high integrity.
Senator Lindsey Graham is also on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: Replacing a Supreme Court Justice is very important, but they come and go. Really what I think is at stake is the reputation of the Senate – can we have a confirmation process that will hold the Senate up to the world and the nation as a deliberative body made up of men and women who are serious about their job, or will it break down into some food fight.
I really think the Senate's reputation is at stake as much as anything else.
LEIGH SALES: Although liberals are petrified that conservatives are about to effectively get control of the highest court in the land, for now, Democrats are promising a straight up and down vote on the President's nominee.
Dianne Feinstein is on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN: I hope that it is a mainstream conservative. And let me explain what I mean by that – that someone that really speaks for the great bulk of Americans.
I think one of the concerns that's developed on the Democratic side of the aisle was when we saw the appellate courts going extraordinarily conservative in terms of some of the appointments.
And it's very important. I mean, this is a very high-profile appointment. Everybody is watching. We have an electorate that's more polarised and divided than I can ever remember. I think the President would do well to reach into the mainstream, to try to bring people together over this appointment. And I think it's very doable.
LEIGH SALES: Most of the names being bandied about for the Supreme Court job are not well known in the US.
And while the lobbying effort is already underway, it'll shift up a gear when the nominee is announced.
Pressure groups are going to spend millions and millions of dollars trying to influence the President's choice, and then afterwards, the Congress' vote.
TONY EASTLEY: North America Correspondent Leigh Sales reporting.
AM - Lobbyists prepare for Supreme Court battle
[This is the print version of story www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1406144.htm]
AM - Monday, 4 July , 2005 08:21:42
Reporter: Leigh Sales
TONY EASTLEY: US President George W. Bush has been given an unexpected chance to further shape the style of his nation's Supreme Court, with the surprise retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court bench.
But he's facing growing calls to appoint a centrist to replace Ms O'Connor.
Republicans and Democrats are already gearing up for a major political fight over a successor.
Justice O'Connor's decision to retire caught people by surprise, as most thought the next vacancy would be that of the conservative Chief Justice, William Rehnquist, who has thyroid cancer.
The make-up of the Supreme Court in the United States is critical, because many of the most controversial issues in the nation end up there.
North America Correspondent Leigh Sales reports.
LEIGH SALES: The lobbying over Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement started the second her retirement became public information.
Justice O'Connor has had the deciding vote on the Supreme Court on many controversial issues, and that means her departure could drastically alter the balance on the bench, depending who President Bush decides to appoint in her place.
Conservative lobby groups are pressuring the White House to select one of their preferred candidates.
One thing they've been angry about in recent years is their perception that American courts are activist, and they want that brought to an end.
C. Boyden Gray is with the Committee for Justice.
C. BOYDEN GRAY: We believe this is the job of the legislature, not the judiciary. We think that the President should appoint someone who will interpret, not make up the law… that he is entitled to put on the bench someone who is in the mainstream of where Republican presidents have been for 25 years.
LEIGH SALES: Liberals are calling for a consensus vote. By that they mean somebody who Democrats can support without too much difficulty.
They know they're going to be presented with a conservative, but as long as the person's not considered extreme, they say they'll cooperate. At least, that's what they're promising at this early stage.
Nan Aron is with the Alliance for Justice.
NAN ARON: We believe that it's important for the country for President Bush to name a candidate who respects individual rights, who accepts the progress we've made as a country and will take us forward, not backward, and will make decisions that serve in the interests of all Americans and not just side with special interests.
LEIGH SALES: The President will be busy at the G8 this week, so he's not expected to announce his nominee until after that.
Members of Congress will then have to confirm his choice.
This year, the Congress hurt its public standing because of the clumsy way it handled the debate about Terri Schiavo – the severely brain damaged Florida woman whose family used the courts to decide whether her feeding tube could be withdrawn.
The Congress has a chance to redeem itself with the Supreme Court nomination process if it can handle the highly-charged situation in a dignified way.
For their part, Republican senators deny they're looking for a conservative ideologue, saying their first priority is to get a judge who's intellectual, fair-minded and a person of high integrity.
Senator Lindsey Graham is also on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: Replacing a Supreme Court Justice is very important, but they come and go. Really what I think is at stake is the reputation of the Senate – can we have a confirmation process that will hold the Senate up to the world and the nation as a deliberative body made up of men and women who are serious about their job, or will it break down into some food fight.
I really think the Senate's reputation is at stake as much as anything else.
LEIGH SALES: Although liberals are petrified that conservatives are about to effectively get control of the highest court in the land, for now, Democrats are promising a straight up and down vote on the President's nominee.
Dianne Feinstein is on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN: I hope that it is a mainstream conservative. And let me explain what I mean by that – that someone that really speaks for the great bulk of Americans.
I think one of the concerns that's developed on the Democratic side of the aisle was when we saw the appellate courts going extraordinarily conservative in terms of some of the appointments.
And it's very important. I mean, this is a very high-profile appointment. Everybody is watching. We have an electorate that's more polarised and divided than I can ever remember. I think the President would do well to reach into the mainstream, to try to bring people together over this appointment. And I think it's very doable.
LEIGH SALES: Most of the names being bandied about for the Supreme Court job are not well known in the US.
And while the lobbying effort is already underway, it'll shift up a gear when the nominee is announced.
Pressure groups are going to spend millions and millions of dollars trying to influence the President's choice, and then afterwards, the Congress' vote.
TONY EASTLEY: North America Correspondent Leigh Sales reporting.
