If you thought the tone in Washington was bad now, it's about to take a nosedive.
The battle to replace Sandra Day O'Connor will be an unprecedented mud-slinging, dirty mess.
Here we are on Friday, going into the long 4th of July weekend. Washington was about to close down for a few days. Instead, the scramble to lobby for an ideologically acceptable replacement will begin by different interest groups.
I can hear the phones ringing off the hook already. Voice mail is probably full and email boxes are getting stuffed.
What makes O'Connor's seat more critical than the one held by Rehnquist is that she often served as the swing vote in many decisions. She was unpredictable, sometimes siding with conservatives, and other times planting herself on the liberal side of the fence.
That is precisely what makes her retirement more dramatic in terms of the future of the Supreme Court.
Since Rehnquist was solidly conservative, Dems could allow a conservative to replace him. That wouldn't change the balance of the court.
O'Connor stepping aside is an entirely different matter. Because the liberals depended on her pro-abortion votes, they will demand that her replacement be a moderate, sympathetic to the left's ideology. Although the Supreme Court is still steadfastly pro-abortion and Roe v. Wade is in no danger of being over-turned, the left will not give an inch on that issue.
In other words, get out the litmus paper.
The significance of O'Connor's retirement is enormous. With her departure, President Bush has the opportunity to transform the Supreme Court in a way that would not have been the case had Rehnquist been the one to go.
Moreover, it can be assumed that Rehnquist will be stepping down, too.
John Paul Stevens can't last much longer either.
It's possible that Bush will have three vacancies to fill before his term comes to an end--the Dems' worst nightmare.
It's going to get real ugly, real fast.
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