Conservative Activists' Enthusiasm for Judge Roberts Somewhat Subdued
by Bill Fancher
September 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - With the president's nominee for chief justice of the Supreme Court apparently on course for approval, some family and pro-life advocates remain tentative in their zeal for John Roberts. They have reservations about really how conservative he may be once he reaches the court. Since the nomination of John G. Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House has stood firmly behind him, without the slightest wavering. Tim Goeglein, deputy director of the White House Office of the Public Liaison, has even turned to the founding fathers for an endorsement of sorts.
"John Adams said that judges should be always men of learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals, great patience, calmness, coolness and attention," Goeglein says. "He said their minds should not be distracted with jarring interests. They should not be dependent upon any man or body of men."
According to Goeglein, the second president of the United States could easily have been describing Judge Roberts, whose nomination for chief justice of the high court is scheduled to go before the full Senate early next week. His nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday (Thursday) on a 13-5 vote.
But while the pro-family movement has generally embraced Roberts' nomination with enormous enthusiasm, that has quelled somewhat over the past few weeks. Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum, for example, is one of those who is not as enthusiastic about Roberts as she once was.
"He doesn't act like Ruth Bader Ginsburg did, but I think he will a pretty good judge," Schlafly says. "He's not a [Antonin] Scalia or [Clarence] Thomas, as we were hoping that Bush would give us. But we are still hoping and praying that President Bush will give us a Scalia or Thomas to fill the other vacancy -- and that will make a great difference in the court."
The leader of the American Life League also admits she is a bit bothered by a response that Roberts offered during his confirmation hearings, when he was asked about the influence of his Catholic faith. The nominee responded by saying his faith and the Bible had no impact on his decision-making process.
Judie Brown, a fellow Catholic and president of the American Life League, says that answer left her a bit uneasy. "It bothered me as a Catholic a great deal, because I think that he either has no sense of history or didn't understand Senator Specter's question," Brown says.
Such a response, the ALL president asserts, leaves a clear message. "As soon as you put your faith in your pocket -- whether you're a Catholic, a Protestant, or a Jew -- you just miss everything rational and reasonable about any position you might take, as far as I'm concerned."
And Brown says she is hoping the chief justice-to-be is not the latest in a long line of Catholics on Capitol Hill with questionable faith. "In the wake of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's brand of Catholicism, we have seen Catholics in public life, including the senators who were questioning him, support abortion on demand while claiming that it's perfectly okay to be [considered] Catholic," the pro-life advocate says.
For decades, Brown has been crusading against such disregard of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church by those who claim to be of that faith. So she wonders if Roberts will be the conservative, pro-lifer his supporters expect him to be.
Meanwhile, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, also a Catholic, has some definite ideas on what kind of Supreme Court nominee he expects will follow Roberts' expected Senate approval. Brownback, a member of the Judiciary Committee, says he expects President Bush to sent that committee another strict constructionist to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.
"I would hope [it would be] a female jurist, but there needs to be a conservative put forward because of so many of these issues that are coming forward," the Kansas lawmaker says. "And we need somebody who has a respect for the law and the Constitution as it is -- not as they wish it would be or not as they hope to change it to be."
The outgoing O'Connor has long been considered the "swing vote" on the high court. If Roberts is approved as the new chief justice, the court will be have five liberals, three conservatives -- and whoever replaces Justice O'Connor.
Bill Fancher, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
