more SCOTUS woes...maybe

Yeah, the Supreme Court sure does suck these days. All up and creating their own legal system and stuff. Seems like they've forgotten to read the Constitution every now and then. You know, just for fun--it's not like they'd actually care what it says. But all we need to do is wait for some vacancies. We can rely on our man Bush to fix things a bit when he gets a chance, right? He'll set them thar Supremes straight with a couple good nominations, won't he?

Well, we can wish. Dubya did give us some good lower court nominees, at least solid enough to draw the ire of Democraps and that's always a good thing. But given how his nominees on Texas' high court have done since getting there, combined with his proven record of playing politics over principle when it comes down to the wire, I haven't been holding out much hope for any Bushites slowing the Court's downhill slide much.

A few weeks ago I read some speculation from a commenter at another site--I think it was Vox Popoli--about how Gonzales would be the next SCOTUS nominee. Wow, that wouldn't suck at all, I thought. But it made sense. He's "in" with the White House, he's hispanic and would continue Bush's absurd quest to pick up votes in that group, and he's plenty moderate enough to avoid a lengthy and ugly Senate confirmation battle. And a hispanic on the Court? Bush must only dream of leaving such a legacy for himself. And since Gonzales isn't conservative enough to offend too many people, he and Bush both could be seen as uniters (for all it's worth, but anyway). But I figured Gonzales was one of several names that could get the nod and it was far too early yet to tell.

Well, maybe it's more than just speculation. William Kristol of the Weekly Standard and Fox News, a big name in conservative political circles, thinks "it is more likely than not to happen." Granted, Gonzales probably would be better than O'Connor, but not by much. He's solid on the war on terror but weak on affirmative action and a wishy-washy conservative in general. And with the Supreme Court in the state it is, we desperately need someone much better in there. Like, say, Janice Rogers Brown. She's got the minority credentials and rock-solid ideology to boot. But I guess Bush isn't up to the hard fight required to get her confirmed. What a shame...I believe Dubya is a politician above all else, but if there was ever a time to stand on principle it would certainly be in choosing the next SCOTUS justice. But, alas, this is America and politicians don't stand on principle 'round these parts.

Thanks to Fraternitas Vitae for the link and for summing this potential scenario up well: "failure due to an unwillingness to fight the good fight."