WE WANT GONZALES!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court "is not obliged to follow" the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts' appointment that would put a new vote on the high court.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gonzales said a justice does not have to follow a previous ruling "if you believe it's wrong," a comment suggesting Roberts would not be bound by his past statement that the 1973 decision settled the issue.

By way of a discussion on John Roberts, Gonzales is revealing his own philosophy regarding the role of the Supreme Court in the U.S. judicial system.


What do you think all the Dems that were campaigning for Gonzales to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's SCOTUS seat think about him now?

I think they're going to regret being on record singing his praises.

Dems were thrilled with the idea of Gonzales being on the high court. They perceived him to be a Roe v. Wade friendly Souter type.

From the July 10, 2005, Boston Globe:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a friend of President Bush who is considered a leading candidate for the Supreme Court, has been attacked by conservative groups as soft on abortion, based largely on comments referring to Roe v. Wade as the law of the land -- a fact, but one that abortion opponents often use as a jumping-off point to express their belief that the decision was unconstitutional.

Gonzales did not do so, fueling speculation that he might have agreed with Roe or that he might be unwilling to overturn it because it's too ingrained in the law.

In addition, as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, Gonzales interpreted a parental-notification law as allowing a minor to have an abortion if a judge believes she had been sufficiently informed about the implications of ending her pregnancy. In the case, Gonzales said he was simply assessing the intentions of the Texas Legislature. And a majority of the court, all Republicans, agreed with him.

Gonzales' statements today send the message that his rulings in the lower courts should not be taken as an indication of how he would rule on the Supreme Court.

This tells me that Gonzales is on the short list for a Rehnquist replacement.