O'Connor Steps Down: Speculation on the Future Supreme Court

**Sunday, July 10, 2005** The morning of July 1, 2005 I got more frenzied e-mails from activist organizations and leftist friends than I ever received on any other Friday morning. No, it wasn't Live 8, or a big peace rally, or even a Jim Hightower, __America's #1 Populist__, sighting that had everyone jumping out of their pants. **Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement from the US Supreme Court.** This one actually made me blink. The legendary "First Female" Supreme Court Justice, the crucial swing vote on the High Court, the Justice who sided with the "left" on reproductive rights but joined the "right" on the exclusion of gays from Boy Scouts, unexpectedly bid farewell to her lifetime gig. Justice O'Connor's presence filled the ideological chasm between the eight other Justices on the High Court. She is annoyingly and delightfully moderate. Simultaneously, O'Connor is equally disliked and appreciated by the left and the right. The left's frenzy over her retirement was well warranted, given how influential O'Connor's presence on the High Court was with regard to preserving women's reproductive rights. Her replacement has the power to tip that balance once and for all. As could be expected, soon after the shock of her retirement wore off, the frenzy over the nomination process began. It is still in full force. Speculation is running heavy with TV pundits foaming at the mouth. The question on everyone's mind now is: __Who will replace Justice O'Connor?__ **Will it be a far right winger hand-picked by Pat Robertson? Or will it be somebody who resembles the retiree?** The Bush Administration is treading carefully as officials are seeking an unusual amount of feedback. White House Counsel, Harriet Miers, and the President's Chief of Staff, Andy Card, are spending lots of time on the phone with Senators, even with some Democrats. Miers and Card are soliciting advice about who the nominee should be. Amid the current nomination hullabaloo, it is interesting to rewind and read news coverage of Justice O'Connor's nomination. Judging from the __New York Times'__ accounts circa July 1981, Justice O'Connor was about as perfect a nominee as Reagan could have found. A brilliant student from Stanford, O'Connor was known for her hard work and dedication to public service. She is from my home state (Arizona) where she served on the State Court of Appeals as well as the State Senate. O'Connor was clearly an outstanding choice. More importantly, even though she is a woman, O'Connor isn't too much of a __ffff…__ __Femmmm…__ What's the word? **F** eminist. Even though many considered O'Connor to be a moderate at the time of her nomination in 1981 the right wing had qualms with her due to her support of several issues which were "linked to feminists," as the __Times__ put it. Yikes! What were these issues that connected her to the Big Bad Feminists? O'Connor believes abortion should not be a crime, and she supported the Equal Rights Amendment. That seems to be it. In order to get the Senate to approve her nomination, the Reagan Administration had to carefully allay the right wing's fears by assuring them that O'Connor wasn't too much of a feminist sympathizer, leaning heavily on the assumption that Reagan would not promote a feminist nominee. This aversion to the "F" word during her appointment process has always struck me as ironic. Indeed, the Reagan Administration had the temerity to appoint a woman because of the awareness raised by the feminist movement. President Reagan even made a campaign promise to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. He even read a poem by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow when he gave his nomination speech, saying that O'Connor will leave "footprints on the sands of time." He seemed to believe it was an important sign of progress to finally have a woman on the High Court. **So, what fuels the aversion to the F word?** I think the answer has something to do with hair. Specifically, it has to do with shaved heads and unshaven legs, and the general public's fear of both. President Bush's nominee will probably have even fewer linkages to the Big Bad Feminists. He is seemingly more Conservative than Reagan, and the country seems even more F-word averse today than it was 24 years ago. It is unclear whether President Bush will nominate a woman as O'Connor's replacement. Of the ten people mentioned as possible nominees, two are women. One belongs to the Federalist Society. The other was nominated by President Reagan to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Both are named Edith. **I wonder if either would call themselves the F word.** delicious | digg | technorati
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