Right Side of the Rainbow

From an MSNBC article on the impending confirmation of John G. Roberts Jr. as the 17th chief justice of the United States and the upcoming fight over Sandra Day O’Connor’s replacement: “Democrats are trying to use floor speeches to pressure [President Bush] into picking a mainstream conservative instead of a hard-line conservative.”

Fascinating. Does anybody know what that means? What is a “mainstream conservative”? And how does such a conservative compare and contrast with a “hard-line conservative”? Inquiring minds want to know.

Meanwhile, this from Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD:

I encourage President Bush to nominate someone for Justice O’Connor’s seat who will further unite the citizens of our great nation, rather than drive a political wedge between them.

How about if the president nominates somebody of good character and professional accomplishment whose record demonstrates an intellectually honest effort to apply the law as written, and who will leave the uniting or dividing of the citizenry to the politicians? How about that?

And finally, from Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-MD, on her decision to vote against Mr. Roberts’ confirmation as chief justice: “I have too many doubts about his commitment to nondiscrimination, the right of privacy and equal protection under the law.”

Well do you have any doubts about your capacity as a senator to vote for legislation that prohibits discrimination, protects the right to privacy or provides for equal protection of the law? If not, you have nothing to fear from a conservative chief justice — unless, of course, you expect him to do your work for you. (By the way, Sen. Mikulski, if you’re truly interested in a “right to privacy,” why not introduce legislation to repeal the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq., and get the Federal Government out of the business of telling people what they can put into their own bodies while in their own homes?)