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Abortion, ‘Hot-Button Issues’ Not “Litmus Tests” For Supreme Court Nominee Says Bush

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 6, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – While the heated debate and speculation over who George Bush will nominate to the Supreme Court swings into full force, the president himself is providing no clues about who he will nominate.

Previous statements by the president have led many to believe that he will appoint a Justice in the conservative mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

However, while in Denmark on Wednesday Bush was asked about possible nominees and he responded that abortion or other such hot-button issues will not be regarded as a “litmus test”. “I’ll pick people who, one, can do the job; people who are honest, people who are bright; and people who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench to legislate from. That’s what I campaigned on, and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Bush.

He also went on to again defend his personal friend Attorney General Albert Gonzales from conservative criticism. “I’m loyal to my friends,” said Bush. “And all of a sudden this fella, who is a good public servant and a really fine person is under fire. And so you ask do I like it? No, I do not like it at all.”

However, whether or not a candidate’s stance on abortion or other similar ‘hot-button’ issues will form a “litmus test”, some point out that the key phrase “who will strictly interpret the Constitution” can be interpreted as an indication Bush will nominate a judge who will oppose the Roe v. Wade-created status quo. Opponents of abortion emphasize there has never been any ‘right’ to abortion in the Constitution, and that the Supreme Court committed fraud by its judicial activist Roe v. Wade ruling.

Bush’s tactics from the moment that O’Connor announced her resignation have involved reassuring Americans that he will not be influenced by special interest groups.

Richard Stevenson pointed out in today’s New York Times that “To the extent that Mr. Bush can be seen as even-handed ideologically and critical of interest groups on both the left and the right, it allows him to stake out the political center.”

"I hope the United States Senate conducts themselves in a way that brings dignity to the process," Bush said while in Denmark, "and that the senators don't listen to the special interest groups, particularly those on the extremes that are trying to exploit this opportunity for not only their, what they might think is right, but also for their own fund-raising capabilities."

It is expected that when Bush announces his nominee for the position a heated battle will ensue in the senate. The less heat and rhetoric that surrounds the process the more likely it is that the senate will allow Bush’s nominee. “This is a good opportunity for good public servants to exhibit a civil discourse on a very important matter, and not let these groups, these money raising groups, these special interest groups, these groups outside the process, dictate the rhetoric, the tone," said Bush.

JJ

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