Bench Memos J.V.

Me, last Friday:

The concern I would have is for the next nomination. Is this "anti-Bork" strategy tailored to this particular appointment, given that it is an opportunity to push the SCOTUS to the right, in which case we could expect the Chief Justice's replacement to be a more "Borkian" candidate like a Luttig, McConnell, Wilkinson, or Edith Jones? Or is it going to be standard operating procedure, in which case we'll never know for sure what we're getting despite Republican control of both Houses of Congress and the Executive?

If it's the former, I won't sweat it. If it's the latter...well, I won't be surprised.

Gerard Bradley on NRO Bench Memos, this morning:

Liberals are playing for next time, for the battle over Rehnquist's successor, for Stevens's, and on down the line. That is mainly why they are laboring so to define "mainstream" conservatism (read: acceptable to liberals), establish proper questioning etiquette, stake their claim to full disclosure of a nominee's papers, etc. (There are other reasons, of course, having to do with jockeying for political position and fundraising.)

All this is pretty clear. What's not so clear is whether conservatives are being as savvy. Yes, conservatives have to parry every thrust against Roberts. Yes, they must keep beating the drums of grassroots support for him. But the outcome is not in doubt. John Roberts is indeed going to be on the bench come October 3rd. Conservatives should also be playing mainly for next time.

To quote President Whitmore at the close of Independence Day (itself a direct quote from Ronald Reagan's farewell address in January 1989), "Not bad; not too bad at all."