A few thoughts on Roberts before bed. Liberals need to be careful how they play this one. I've heard a fair number of folks demanding that Democrats force the nuclear option, and that any who don't should be disowned by the party's base. At this point, that's idiotic.
As we begin this battle, a few facts should be kept in mind. First and foremost, President Bush will nominate and the Senate will confirm a conservative judge. As McCain says, elections have consequences, and this is one of them. If we somehow shut down the Senate and force Bush to pick a different candidate, the replacement will also be conservative. There is no possible outcome where Roberts is replaced by a liberal, or even a moderate. Without a majority, we're just not going to get an agreeable judge.
So the question, on Roberts, is how to lose. One way or the other, we will lose, all that matters is how we look while we flame out. And the first rule there is that we shouldn't look like a bunch of rabid ideologues begging for a battle. We should want to confirm this judge. We should. We should hope Bush has nominated someone easily confirmable, who will spend the next few decades blessing the Court with enlightened jurisprudence. If and when facts come out that say otherwise, we should reluctantly, sadly admit them into the analysis. And when the vote finally comes due, after his opinions are well known and our thoughts on those opinions are widely broadcast, we should vote no and lose well.
The filibuster and the nuclear option are a last resort. They're unpredictable. We should remember that. Even assuming we could win the first one, could we win the second? The third? At what point does the public decide principle has become obstruction?
So the battle, as it begins, should be about one thing: making this guy answer questions. His comments on Roe, which spoke for the first Bush Administration, should be used as evidence that he must answer our questions. Otherwise, we have to assume those are his opinions. His odd cases, his tough decisions, his offensive quotes: these must all be broadcast, but only as part of a single, crystal-clear demand that Roberts sit in the Senate and offer simple, declarative answers to questions. Once that's done, we can decide how he looks and what to do. But if we don't show a genuine desire to get there first, public opinion will never allow us to get anywhere else.
