# Who will Bush nominate to succeed Justice O'Connor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 4, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049 "2005-07-04T20:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/181 "2005-07-20T01:18:19Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I guarantee you someone will come forward to tell the media that the guy is a serial rapist. How much are you willing to put up? Wanna go $20? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/182 "2005-07-20T01:18:35Z")
Wow. 10 minutes after the official nomination, nobody who has the power to affect the situation has even spoken yet, and already we have the Poor Put-Upon Republican Martyr Tour coming through! It’s amazing how victimized a party that controls two of the three branches of government and is aiming at the third can be… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/183 "2005-07-20T01:21:19Z")
He’s going to be confirmed without any real opposition. The Dems will pretend to be concerned, but in the end, he’ll get the votes needed. You heard it here first, folks. : The guy is just too smart, too well spoken, too well qualified, and too “normal looking” to get Borked. The Moveon.orgs of the world will raise a fuss, but that won’t matter in the end. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/184 "2005-07-20T01:25:33Z")
> [@andros](#): > > How much are you willing to put up? Wanna go $20? Ooh, Ooh!! I want in on that bet, too. 1,000 Quatloos on the justice nominee. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/185 "2005-07-20T01:26:56Z")
> [@andros](#): > > How much are you willing to put up? Wanna go $20? I agree…it’s a dumb notion. The administration will want to focus on his “credentials”…The dems will have to give at least SOME lip service to trying to pin him down on RvW and other social issues The usual extremists from both sides will run their ad campaigns suggesting that the future of life as we know it is at stake… Unless some other kind of event surfaces (like a Zoe Baird or Douglas Ginsburg “ethical problem”), I suspect he’ll get confirmed…maybe with 60-65 votes. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/186 "2005-07-20T01:29:09Z")
Yeah, I’ll buy that, John. He looks to be well thought of on the hill. On the other hand one of my college roomies is now a campaign manager for People for the American Way and told me they were going to take swings at WHOMEVER got the nomination. And that same thing will apply to NARAL, NOW and other lobbying groups inside the Beltway. The issue becomes how much media traction they get with that. And that sort of becomes a matter of how much time the network producers want to devote to Plame/Rove as opposed to this. A good barometer will be how much crap McClellan takes in the White House briefing tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/187 "2005-07-20T01:30:27Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > He’s going to be confirmed without any real opposition. The Dems will pretend to be concerned, but in the end, he’ll get the votes needed. You heard it here first, folks. : I think you’re probably right, but… > [@](#): > > The Moveon.orgs of the world will raise a fuss, but that won’t matter in the end. Actually, I wonder if the other end of the spectrum is going to be upset, upset that this guy isn’t conservative _enough_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/188 "2005-07-20T01:32:42Z")
Despite **Stephe96** ’s…interesting…ideas, Roberts will sail through the nomination. He’s got 55 Republican votes, and I can’t see him failing to get the 5 Democratic votes needed to override a filibuster. He will be grilled–as any nominee should be–but barring some real scandal, he’ll get in. And seriously, what is it with (some) conservatives and the martyr complex. You guys run the country now! It’s way past time to get off that cross. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/189 "2005-07-20T01:35:15Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > I agree…it’s a dumb notion. > The administration will want to focus on his “credentials”…The dems will have to give at least SOME lip service to trying to pin him down on RvW and other social issues > > The usual extremists from both sides will run their ad campaigns suggesting that the future of life as we know it is at stake… > > Unless some other kind of event surfaces (like a Zoe Baird or Douglas Ginsburg “ethical problem”), I suspect he’ll get confirmed…maybe with 60-65 votes. Waitaminute, waitaminute! We DID all see the Clarence Thomas hearings, yes? I was sick to my stomach watching Ted Kennedy, captain of the Chappaquiddik Swim Team, pretend to sit in moral judgement of a man who maybe, _maybe_ , told an off-color joke in front of a co-worker. And the other Dems sat there with straight faces!!! That was the summer (89? 90?) when I realized that the shameless Democratic leadership will sink to any level to stop a GOP Supreme Court nominee. Nevermind the fact that sexual harrassment of women was of utmost importance that summer…but by '92? Well, heck…nobody’s perfect, right? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/190 "2005-07-20T01:37:20Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > And that sort of becomes a matter of how much time the network producers want to devote to Plame/Rove as opposed to this. A good barometer will be how much crap McClellan takes in the White House briefing tomorrow. I agree. I think the nomination was timed to get media attention away from Rove’s treasonous actions. I think Bush and Rove will be just FINE if there’s a protracted battle over the nomination for that reason. From the POV of distracting attention from the Rove case, they literally cannot lose. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/191 "2005-07-20T01:40:10Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Waitaminute, waitaminute! We DID all see the Clarence Thomas hearings, yes? I was sick to my stomach watching Ted Kennedy, captain of the Chappaquiddik Swim Team, pretend to sit in moral judgement of a man who maybe, _maybe_ , told an off-color joke in front of a co-worker. And the other Dems sat there with straight faces!!! That was the summer (89? 90?) when I realized that the shameless Democratic leadership will sink to any level to stop a GOP Supreme Court nominee. Nevermind the fact that sexual harrassment of women was of utmost importance that summer…but by '92? Well, heck…nobody’s perfect, right? Thomas was accused (rightly or wrongly) of doing a HELL of a lot more than just “telling an off-color joke”. Her name was Anita Hill…read the book. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/192 "2005-07-20T01:40:44Z")
From the AP: “We are extremely disappointed that President Bush has chosen such a divisive nominee for the highest court in the nation, rather than a consensus nominee who would protect individual liberty and uphold Roe v. Wade.” - NARAL Pro-Choice America. … The guy has _written_ that he believes Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided and should be overruled.” The Dems know they can’t beat this guy in the Senate…they’ll try to “Thomas” him. Just my prediction. I hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/193 "2005-07-20T01:42:45Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > Thomas was accused (rightly or wrongly) of doing a HELL of a lot more than just “telling an off-color joke”. > > Her name was Anita Hill…read the book. What was the absolute worst accusation against Thomas? ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/194 "2005-07-20T01:43:45Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > From the AP: > > “We are extremely disappointed that President Bush has chosen such a divisive nominee for the highest court in the nation, rather than a consensus nominee who would protect individual liberty and uphold Roe v. Wade.” - NARAL Pro-Choice America. > … > > The guy has _written_ that he believes Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided and should be overruled.” The Dems know they can’t beat this guy in the Senate…they’ll try to “Thomas” him. Just my prediction. I hope I’m wrong. What does RvW have to do with trying to “Thomas” the nominee? I think that the black helicoptors must be in the air as we speak… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/195 "2005-07-20T01:46:19Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > From the AP: > > “We are extremely disappointed that President Bush has chosen such a divisive nominee for the highest court in the nation, rather than a consensus nominee who would protect individual liberty and uphold Roe v. Wade.” - NARAL Pro-Choice America. > … > > The guy has _written_ that he believes Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided and should be overruled.” The Dems know they can’t beat this guy in the Senate…they’ll try to “Thomas” him. Just my prediction. I hope I’m wrong. I think your fallacy here is considering the Democratic Party with the larger group of leftist political organizations that operate (as do their rightist counterparts) in the political arena. ‘Democrats’, meaning the democrats in the Senate, may sail him through. Those other groups, about whom there is little control from official Washington, may not. Almost certainly will not. But seeing them and say, Reid, as one unit is false. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/196 "2005-07-20T01:50:55Z")
**Stephe96** , have you considered the possibility that maybe Roberts doesn’t _have_ an Anita Hill waiting in the wings? ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/197 "2005-07-20T01:52:07Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > What was the absolute worst accusation against Thomas? According to Hill…Thomas repeatedly asked her out on dates AFTER she informed she wasn’t interested. THEN…(according to Hill) he engaged in further discussions of pornagraphic films aand “lewd sexual acts”. > [@](#): > > His conversations were very vivid. He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes. He talked about pornographic materials depicting individuals with large penises or large breasts involved in various sex acts. On several occasions, Thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess. > > Because I was extremely uncomfortable talking about sex with him at all and particularly in such a graphic way, I told him that I did not want to talk about these subjects. I would also try to change the subject to education matters or to nonsexual personal matters such as his background or his beliefs. My efforts to change the subject were rarely successful. {snip} > [@](#): > > One of the oddest episodes I remember was an occasion in which Thomas was drinking a Coke in his office. He got up from the table at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, “Who has pubic hair on my Coke?” On other occasions, he referred to the size of his own penis as being larger than normal, and he also spoke on some occasions of the pleasures he had given to women with oral sex. [http://gos.sbc.edu/h/hill.html](http://gos.sbc.edu/h/hill.html) Call me crazy, but I think that the accusations (without commenting on the veracity) rise just a wee bit over telling a naughty joke. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/198 "2005-07-20T01:52:31Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I think your fallacy here is considering the Democratic Party with the larger group of leftist political organizations that operate (as do their rightist counterparts) in the political arena. > > ‘Democrats’, meaning the democrats in the Senate, may sail him through. Those other groups, about whom there is little control from official Washington, may not. Almost certainly will not. But seeing them and say, Reid, as one unit is false. I understand this but you have to admit that a lot of the money raised by the DNC (especially with Dean now running the place) does come from extreme leftist organizations, ala George Soros, Move-On et al. They will run ads calling this guy a Nazi who wants women to die in back-alleys, and they will demand to be heard. I think the moderate Dems ignore them at their own peril. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/199 "2005-07-20T01:52:32Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > What was the absolute worst accusation against Thomas? An ongoing and habitual pattern of sexual discrimination and harassment. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049/200 "2005-07-20T01:53:54Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > **Stephe96** , have you considered the possibility that maybe Roberts doesn’t _have_ an Anita Hill waiting in the wings? Ah, but neither did good ol’ Clarence. The eeeevil Democrats manufactured the whole thing, just as they’ll do with Roberts. :roll-fucking-eyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-bush-nominate-to-succeed-justice-oconnor/311049.md?page=11)