More to Like About Roberts
According to NPR, Roberts worked on a case supporting gay rights that went to the Supreme Court and got a Colorado law forbidding gays to file discrimination suits overturned. The left should be all over this, going on every television show, writing columns in every paper, proclaiming what a bold choice Roberts is, how Roberts' nomination is a repudiation of the extreme right, and what a fantastic leader President Bush is for picking him.
C'mon, folks! I said it already once. This is our chance to split the evangelicals and extreme right-wingers from the Republican party and maybe move the discussion back toward the left. The alliance of moderates and the far right is ripe to be torn asunder right now. If we break the alliance between the Republican moderates and the Bob Jones University crowd, the right won't be able to hold the center anymore.
It can be done. Someone in the Democratic party just has to have the courage to make it happen.
posted by mooglar @ 10:07 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I totally agree with you here.
First of all, Roberts is probably as good as the left is going to get for a nominee, so we shouldn't waste too much energy and political capital fighting it. Second, His nomination is almost certain anyway, so again why waste resources opposing him?
I can understand the desire on the part of the left to not look weak in terms of the process. The Republications are intentionally jerking us around with respect to documentation, and I suppose some people may feel that we cannot let them do this. Still, they are jerking us around in order to provoke responses from us that make us look like obstructionists. As usual, we play right into their tactics.
I agree with you: Let's control the spin ourselves for a while. We should say that we like Roberts and think he is a good candidate for the job. As you say, there may even be the opportunity to use our support to help highlight some of the radical differences that exist between different kinds of conservatives.
If it is one thing that conservatives do well, and should definitely be respected by the left, it is to consolidate in spite of very different core beliefs on some issues. It would do us well to show some of the fiscal conservatives that the Democrats aren't as different as they are as the Christian right on many issues. Supporting Roberts would go a long way towards doing that ... and since he is likely to be appointed anyway, what do we lose with this investment?
Emily Messner has rambling editorial in the Post today that more or less agrees with us on this point: Senate Democrats should approve Roberts and move on to the next nominee.
Also, as a totally off the subject aside, Jimmy Carter had a nice piece yesterday on drilling in Alaska that's worth noting.
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