Will You Have Your Chief Justice Well Done Or Over Crispy?

Judge John Roberts spent his first day of the Congressional hearings listening to the meanderings of a group of Reality TV Actors, i.e. The Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearings so far are an introduction of the real stars of the committee, the senators.

I may be over speculating, it looked to me as though Judge Roberts had taken a painkiller of two before the hearings. No, he wouldn’t have done that, he wouldn’t pass the drug test.

Today’s hearings were like a referee giving instructions at a twelve-man tag-team in a wrestling match. A lot of pomp and ceremony about nothing. Tomorrow the rules go out the window and the games begin.

There’s probably a good reason for senate hearings, although they’re relatively new in the procedure. More scrutiny may have saved the court from the liberalization of the Warren years. On the other hand, a more conservative court may have delayed civil rights and other progressive movements. All the courts decisions are always filled with What If’s . The courts decisions turn them into the final What Is .

Chief Justice Roberts and another conservative appointment to replace Justice O’Connor won’t immediately send the court in a 180 degree turn to conservatism. It’ll take controversial law suites filed and accepted for a hearing before the court makes any significant move to the right. That may take years.

Five percent of the words spoken in the hearings will be questions Judge Roberts can answer. Ninety-five present will be senators telling Judge Roberts what he thinks on any number of issues of issues. Judge Roberts has a look between a poker player and a deer in the headlights. If I were his Doctor, I’d be looking for some imbedded micro-chips in the man. He looks bionic to me.

The usual town clowns, Biden, Schumer, Kennedy, Leahy, Dodd, and Byrd will fulfill what they see as their duty. They’ll do their best to destroy the man, if he survives then he gets the job. In farming they call it slash and burn, in politics its trash and burn. I have this fantasy, no nominee should be required to answer any question the inquirer hasn’t answered about him or her self first. I’ll bet they’d get through those hearing before lunch,

There’s little doubt Judge Roberts will be confirmed. I predict this will be a real smoothie compared to recent conformation hearings. Liberals lost ground in the way they treated most of the Bush judicial nominees. Could it be some of the liberals got smart and looked at the results of the past four elections? After fifty years of liberalism, the country is changing.

I may be wrong but I doubt it. Judge Roberts will be confirmed, and sooner than later. He’s a good man and deserves some degree of respect by the senate. May God guide him on his journey through these hearings and beyond.

e-mail ken-hughes@comcast.net