Roberts takes the oath of office from John Paul Stevens. The only problem I have with that is that Stevens is a cubs fan. I'm not sure that's a good omen. There might even be something in the Constitution about it.
I have a somewhat different reaction to today's Senate vote from my SDP colleague, Quentin. Daschle did, after all, come out in support of John Roberts. Out senior Senator, Tim Johnson, joined John Thune in voting to confirm. Of course, there is good reason to suspect that the outcome would have been different if the Democrats had a majority in the Senate.
As it was the Democrats split 22/22. That, to put it mildly, is a mixed message. Looking at the votes by state is interesting. Roberts carries pretty much every red state Democrat, including both Arkansas and Wisconsin Senators. He loses most of the blue states and Democratic Presidential hopefuls, with a few notable exceptions like Vermont (Leahy and independent Jeffords both vote yea) and of course Wisconsin's Russ Feingold.
The Democrats are already circling their wagons for the next pick. They may even get the support of a few Republicans like Collins and Snowe of Maine. They are going to put a strong emphasis on a "balanced court." It would be a terrible mistake for the Republicans to endorse that principle. No president has ever been bound by it before. Clinton surely was not. It would tend to make the court a static thing, instead of the adaptive creature that Democrats claim to admire.
Recent Comments