September 7, 2005

The Democrats Game Plan

I love dodge ball. It was the ultimate in high school gym class: A huge red ball in your hand and on the other side of the line are a bunch of human targets. You take dead aim and ba-boom! Victory! Well, it looks like the Supreme Court nomination hearings for John Roberts will be just like that. Imagine John Roberts as the only one left on the dodge ball wall. He’s just waiting to be hit by red balls flying left and right. And he’s dodging each one. There’s Ted Kennedy in gym shorts (that’s a scary thought!) firing a zinger right at home. His zinger is expected to be how Roberts is supposedly hostile to civil rights. Then there’s Dick Durbin in a tank top (another equally scary thought!). He has his red ball lined up too. Then Chuck Schumer comes in and fires his, then Patrick Leahy, etc.

Each democrat will have an exact line of questioning all ready for Roberts. Senator Dianne Feinstein will ask about Roe v. Wade and his apparent hostility to women’s rights. Chuck Schumer will ask about his views on the commerce clause and the right to privacy. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee meanwhile will each get ready to defend Roberts after each democratic senator gets their licks in. At this point at least, unless there’s some smoking gun out there that we don’t know about, Roberts will be confirmed. Schumer has talked about a possible filibuster, but I just don’t see it. Roberts would have to really tick off the democrats in the hearings to do it and he’s just not that type of guy. He’s too friendly and you have the majority of Americans saying confirm the guy. There’s talk on the hill that about 45 Republicans will vote yes, there are then about 15 Senators who are most likely going to vote for him, and then about 20 who may do so. That’s 80 in a best case scenario. Game, set, and match unless there’s an Anita Hill type story out there lurking around.

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