Over the weekend, Karl Rove, describing the president’s approach to filling Sandra Day O’Connor’s Supreme Court vacancy, said, “Diversity always plays a role in the president’s thinking.” This seems far less apparent today.
I wouldn’t suggest for a moment that the White House apply some kind of quota to diversity on the Supreme Court, but it was interesting to see how the process played out with regards to shaping a high court that “looks like America.”
Polls showed most Americans, including the First Lady, wanted to see a woman replace O’Connor on the Court. Many Hispanic groups were excited about the possibility of the first-ever Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a sentiment shared by party strategists who are anxious to see Republicans make gains among this key voting constituency. Still others held out hope that Bush could name an African American to the post, and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson’s name was widely circulated.
Bush responded to this discussion — by picking a white, Christian, multi-millionaire man. As constituency politics goes, I was under the impression that Bush already had this group’s support all sewn up.
Up until very recently, it looked like diversity would play a larger role in the White House’s thinking.
President Bush’s advisers are focusing the search for a Supreme Court nominee to see if there is an acceptable female or minority legal figure to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, according to Republican strategists familiar with the selection process. […]
“With the chief off the table, obviously the question of whether the administration chooses a woman becomes far more important,” said one GOP strategist with insight into the thinking of Bush aides, who insisted on anonymity because the White House has tried to keep the selection process confidential. “They are now trying to screen women to see if there are any who are acceptable to the president. That doesn’t mean he has to pick any of them, but it’s perfectly reasonable for them to look at the field of candidates.”
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice and an adviser to the White House on court issues, said Bush could easily find a female nominee who would meet his standards for a justice who adheres to a strict interpretation of the Constitution. “There’s a lot of women who are very well qualified for the position,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a woman.”
If not a woman, several Republicans close to the White House said Bush may pick a black or Hispanic nominee.
That was word from the White House three days ago. I hate to sound cynical (wait, no I don’t), but do you suppose the Bush gang was giving lip service to diversity so they could say today that they seriously considered women, Hispanics, and African Americans?
Last week, when top Senate Dems met with Bush about the vacancy, reports surfaced that Dems specifically recommended Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Ed Prado of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Hinojosa, all of whom are Hispanic. Some Republicans were furious, not because Dems want a diverse court, but because word leaked out. As far as the GOP was concerned, when Bush tapped another wealthy white guy to join six other wealthy white guys, Dems could say, “Well, we told him to pick a Hispanic but the president wouldn’t listen.”
Now we know why they were so upset.