Pro Ecclesia on The Gathering Storm

Jay Anderson of Pro Ecclesia has an excellent series of posts on the Democrat challenges to Judge Roberts' nomination to SCOTUS. He finds Senatory Durbin tipping his hand regarding a "litmus test" for nominees:

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if President Bush had "the same right" to appoint pro-life justices that President Clinton had to appoint pro-choice justices, Durbin at first insisted, "I'm not looking for a litmus test."

"As important as reproductive rights and women's rights are, I just basically want to know that if the next case involving privacy and personal freedom came up, what he believes," the Illinois Democrat claimed.

Asked, however, what he would do if Roberts "said he did not see a right to privacy in the Constitution," Durbin told MTP host Tim Russert: "I wouldn't vote for him. That would disqualify him in my mind."

Why am I not surprised, Senator? Does the term "Self-hating Catholic" have any meaning for you, sir? Or do you so misunderstand your Faith that you honestly believe you can support abortion and maintain your communion with the Lord? How is one only "personally opposed" to murder? When did society deem it appropriate to leave the establishment of conditions for the commision of a crime up to the discretion of each individual? Since SCOTUS said so, that's when!

Senator Durbin may convince a confused mainstream that he stands for the Reasonable middle ground. Mr. Anderson does an excellent job dissembling his position. He also demonstrates the inconsistency of Senator Schumer's preferred line of questioning with past Democratic and Republican Senator queries during a confirmatin hearing. Observe:

"I'm trying to set the predicate for future nominations," Schumer told WCBS TV in New York, "by asking and making sure that everyone agrees it's okay for us to ask a whole lot of questions and for him to answer them as a prerequisite for getting the nomination."

How convenient, sir. Will you support this standard when Republicans invoke it for the next Democratic administration's nomination of a SCOTUS justice? Or does your standard only apply to those nominees that you consider to be "far right". You're not fooling anyone, senator. Least of all, the voters of the state of New York.

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