Interest Group Politics

I'm hearing that Rehnquist's retirement is imminent, perhaps even moments away. And I'm also hearing the Religious Right wants two far, far right nominees -- no Gonzales. So I guess we'll have to see where Bush goes and see whether he rewards his friend, or decides to dance with who brung him.

BTW, with all the talk for years about the Democrats being beholden to narrow interest groups like the teacher's union, etc., I think this episode, along with Terri Schiavo, shows that Republicans today are much more beholden to a narrow, extreme interest group than the Democratic party ever was.
- posted by Joshua @ 4:56 PM (0) comments

 
Changing the Composition of the Court?

I'm very conflicted in using my crystal ball to predict whether Bush will feed his base in the religious right with an activist right-winger or if he will side with personal loyalty and choose Gonzales. But, in any event, it's important to remember one thing: the resignation of O'Connor, while absolutely critical to the future of the court, does not quite mean the same thing it would have 5 years ago.

And that's because of the steady evolution of Justice Kennedy onto the left side of the spectrum in recent decisions, which is discussed in this recent Washington Post article. Beginning in 1992 with Casey and Lee v. Weisman (barring prayer at public school graduations), Kennedy followed with his gay-rights opinion in Romer v. Evans in 1996. Then, after a bit of a hiatus as a steady-right-wing vote, he emerged with Lawrence v. Kansas and the recent decision barring the execution of minors. Indeed, he even sided with the liberals on a commerce clause/federalism issue in the recent medical marijuana decision.

These decisions have earned him the scorn of the religious right, much the same way Justice Blackmun did. (Remember the post-Terri Schiavo comments by DeLay and others?) And like Blackmun, early indications are that Kennedy's reaction to the criticism is to run further away and join the left-wing bloc more and more.

In any event, what I really want to know is whether Karl Rove is going to jail. Echoing the fascination on the left with the recent Plame case developments, one friend recently e-mailed me that "I want, with a passion that is sexual in its intensity, Karl Rove to go to jail." We'll have to see what happens, but it's worth considering why Judith Miller went to jail and why Fitzgerald wants her testimony so bad.

Let's not forget what Judith Miller said last May, when her reporting about WMDs in the New York Times before the war in Iraq began was seriously questioned and her close relationship with Chalabi was explored:

"You know what," she offered angrily. "I was proved fucking right. That's what
happened. People who disagreed with me were saying, 'There she goes again.' But
I was proved fucking right."

Hmm. Sounds like someone else we know who's unable to admit that he's done anything wrong. (No, not you Dick, pass the phone to George.) In any event, she had a pretty cozy relationship with the Bush White House, one that Cooper never enjoyed (Cooper is married to Mandy Grunwald, former Clinton campaign media consultant). Verrrrry interesting, indeed.

The humidity's a bitch, but it's a fun time to be in Washington.
- posted by Joshua @ 4:51 PM (0) comments