Should there come a necessary time for President Bush to make a nomination to the Supreme Court, we hope his choice will be someone who has read, who understands and who respects the Constitution..." Dance of the Word Warriors

The letter from Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), was blunt: "You and I need to be prepared to oppose George W. Bush’s nominees to the Supreme Court."

Superficially, the letter, sent to a million people, is nothing more than prototypical advocacy group fundraising. The wolf is at the door; send money. The sky is falling; send money. The way you and I want things to be is in jeopardy; send money.

If you’re on Ms. Michelman’s side, such rhetoric gets the juices flowing and opens up wallets. If you’re on the other side, it gets the juices flowing and raises the stakes. This is how wars start.

Never mind that there are no vacancies on the Supreme Court. It’s enough for the word warriors that several justices have health problems and several others are said to want to retire. Even those contingencies are not required in the world of centrifugal advocacy. A fundraising letter stakes out turf, preserves the franchise, raises name identification and garners talk show invitations and op ed availabilities. If The New York Times and Washington Post are printing your name, you’re doing your job. Whether a fundraising letter actually produces income in excess of expenses is often inconsequential.

While some may find it unseemly to attack a President for an act he has not taken and may not take, such thought in this political environment will get one relegated to a home for the hopelessly irrelevant. In fact, the more cynical among us occasionally observe that if the likes of Ms. Michelman ever get what they say they want, they’re out of business. The process is more important than the product. Regardless, the battle is joined, and if we do not stake out a position now, we will be dismissed as insignificant.

Should there come a necessary time for President Bush to make a nomination to the Supreme Court, we hope his choice will be someone who has read, who understands and who respects the Constitution — criteria not nearly so obvious as they sound. We would like someone for whom the burning argument of the day is less important than the constitutional requirements of the law that must decide it. Someone who wishes that people would not make fools or hustlers of themselves on the steps of the court, but recognize their right to do so. Someone who has never even contemplated running for office or contributing to those who do. Someone who thinks with linear precision and who writes with economy and clarity. Someone with a sense of humor, but not so much as to consider televising court proceedings. Someone who will bring dignity and distinction to the court.

If we get those qualities, then ideology will not matter, because that person will well serve the country and the Supreme Court, as do most who have occupied that bench.

2001
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