Bulletpoints on the Nomination
By Erick Posted in The Courts — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
- Edith Brown Clement told her law clerks last week that she had met with the White House and was in the final three.
One of the radio networks is reporting that Clement being dropped leaves just Luttig, Jones, and Gonzales.
Gonzales is not the pick. Trust me with this even if you trust me with nothing else.
- Specter was pleased with the choice after his meeting at the White House. The President wants someone who he knows. John Roberts and Priscilla Owens fit the pattern with the President and Roberts fits the pattern with the President and Specter. Owens's numbers are going up on Tradesports without much mention of her today.
- Luttig was in court today dealing with the Padilla matter. I got several late afternoon phonecalls wanting to know where Luttig is today.
- No one seems to know where Edith Jones is today. I got several afternoon phone calls wanting to know where Jones was today. The President undid the damage his father did to the GOP on taxcuts. Jones was in the White House the day Souter was nominated. Might the President want to undo Souter too? Update [2005-7-19 17:50:38 by Erick]: We do know where Edith Jones is. She's in Houston today.
- Senators are complaining that the White House has not told them the name, so we should not expect anyone else to know either.
- A group briefed at the White House this morning was very convinced it would be Clement. Either the White House is pulling a fast one or the White House is being so secretive and vague that they may be doing their nominee a disservice, unless it is a hardcore conservative, in which case we have a fight on our hands in the Senate and the White House has let the Gang of 500 stir the water with Clement so the lefty groups will be caught more unprepared.
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Bulletpoints on the Nomination 13 Comments (0 topical, 13 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"Court" for him is Richmond. That's a pond jump to D.C. and his presence in Court would explain why the announcement is at 9 p.m. and not during the day (as I believe is typical in these situations).
Houston is also within doing for a 9 p.m. announcement. It should be about a 3 hour flight to D.C.
So unless you can confirm she's still in Houston in about a half hour (say 6:30 eastern), I think she's still a possibility.
Someone in the Whitehouse did a masterful job of leaking Clement's name as the putative nominee this morning. The press and everyone else including myself fell for it hook,, line, and sinker. It looks like the best slight of hand since Houdini! I smell a Edith Jones nomination and a battle royale in the Senate. Say goodbye to that precious little memorandum of understanding RINO's !
If it's Luttig, the President is proving himself to be on the side of angles.
But why do I keep fearing.....Gonzales will pop up again?
This had better be good!
My prediction has consistently been this: if the President does NOT give us a clearly constitutionalist justice, he's blown it big time, and will pay a significant price for it this term, i.e. kiss the 2006 elections good-bye, and thence the remainder of the Term. It also ends any presidential aspiration Jeb might harbor.
So, a logical pick, from his own political interests would be a hard-core conservative, but one of impeccable stature. Someone who is undoubtedly conservative, but who simply has the required qualities. And no "wild" things for the Left to complain, so no Janice Rogers Brown etc.
None of the women or minorities mentioned has those qualifications. (I think Estrada ought to be a possibility but it would, at least plausibly, be argued that as a non-sitting judge he doesn't have the right kind of experience)
That leaves the President, in my analysis, with a white male, so probably either Luttig or Roberts.
Priscilla Owen, Michael Luttig, or possibly Edith Jones. (If reports of Jones being in Texas today are accurate, that eliminates her.)
My money is on Owen or Luttig, with a wildcard..
Micheal Savage !
rumor be true.
There seems to be some Luttig buzz elsewhere in the blogsphere, so it may be so.
The WH has apparantly done a pretty good job with the bait and switch, and we may in fact get exactly what Bush promised in '04, and I can honestly say that if in the end it isn't Luttig but is a Jones I will be happy, I will be okay with Owen (but I still don't know that she is truly an originalist rather than more of just flat out conservative).
was floated on purpose by the white house to see what kind of response she would get from the base and from the dems.
It might explain the whole bait and switch regarding her.
Now I am keeping my fingers crossed for Luttig-it will be harder fight than either of the Ediths would have been, but he is a justice that I think is worth fighting for, and it means Bush is willing to take the fight to the dems, rather than letting them control the situation.
If it's, let's say, Luttig, the interest groups have been preparing files on him for year. I don't get how it would be some massive distraction to get them obsessing over Clement for the better part of today, as if they instantly purged all their other files when they heard the Clement rumor.
Another theory I heard is that the purpose of the rumor is so Bush can nominate a man while creating the appearance that a woman was seriously considered right up until the last minute. That makes some sense.
I figure the WH may have been after a response from the base and the dems on the Ediths-especially Clement to see what the response would be, in case of future appointments.
WHere, I ask, has Judge Wopner last been seen? Or Judge Judy.
Temperment? I'll give you temperment!!!
Specter was pleased with the choice after his meeting at the White House.
I'm fairly sure Specter does not know the name of the nominee.
A reporter on ABC said on Hannity's radio show that Luttig's wife and kids were dressed up and in court with him today.