Supporters Wary Dems May Stall Confirmation of Bush's SCOTUS Nominee
by Bill Fancher
July 26, 2005
(AgapePress) - The political Left has come out firing at Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, who has been put forward by President Bush as his choice to replace the soon-to-retire Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Dorinda Bordlee of the Bioethics Defense Fund says it did not take long for the opposing liberal forces to attack the high court nominee.Bordlee notes that anti-John Roberts websites were up and running within 20 minutes of President Bush's announcement that Roberts was his pick. "They already had their judgments up there, [saying] that he was going to end abortion and reinstate the legality of school prayer, and their action alerts to call your senator. And they're ready to go," she says.
Now Roberts' supporters need to do the same, Bordlee points out. She says those who want to see Bush's nominee confirmed have a responsibility to show the same aggressive diligence as those who are working against his ascension to the Supreme Court bench, and those supporters must contact their senators with an equally clear message -- namely, "We want an up-or-down vote on this. We don't want them stalling."
But pro-life conservatives are concerned that pro-abortion Democrats and their support groups may be planning a huge stalling campaign in Roberts' judicial confirmation process. With Justice O'Connor planning to resign only after her replacement has been confirmed, Bordlee notes, the timing of that confirmation -- particularly as it relates to a number of sanctity-of-life matters upcoming on the Supreme Court docket -- is crucial.
"There are several very important cases concerning end-of-life issues and abortion cases that are coming up in early October," the Bioethics Defense Fund spokeswoman says, "and we need the President's appointee to be in his seat and ready to go." Any delay, she observes, would keep O'Connor on the court and the pro-abortion balance as it is until after these vital cases are decided.
Many in both the conservative and liberal camps have commented on Roberts' impressive qualifications for appointment to the high court. Chris Farrell, Director of Investigations and Research for Judicial Watch, has uncovered some information that he feels recommends the jurist highly for the Supreme Court position.
For instance, Roberts gave up a lucrative law practice in a private firm to become a judge. "He was pulling down over a million dollars a year as a partner there," Farrell says, "and he gave that up and took a pay cut, down to $170,000 a year, to be an appellate court judge."
The Judicial Watch spokesman points out that even though Roberts will get a pay boost if he is confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court, that paycheck would be small indeed compared with what he could make if he opted to return to private practice. But Farrell says, "It's quite apparent that he's not that kind of a guy, that he believes in giving back to the country and has done so very admirably."
Bush's nominee has, "obviously, enormous academic qualifications," the investigator notes, adding that, during his years as a lawyer, Roberts has also garnered "excellent qualifications in both his private practice and his public practice." Also, Farrell points out, Roberts has "argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and won 25 of them."
For John G. Roberts to have earned a batting average like that in some of the toughest legal cases in the country is something Farrell believes many on Capitol Hill -- perhaps even some who oppose his appointment to the Supreme Court -- will have to admire.
Bill Fancher, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
