Judge Roberts: Tempest in a Teapot?

President Bush chose conservative appeals court judge John Roberts on Tuesday as his first nominee to the Supreme Court. Will this choice invoke a filibuster by the Democrats? Should it? Judge Roberts is a conservative. It is not like Bush was going to nominate Bill Clinton. I see no surprise here. I also see no reason for a filibuster given the reality of the situation.

It is possible that Roberts could in a future case, vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. But the last such case saw a vote of 6 to 3 to uphold it. Robert's vote against would still mean Roe v. Wade upheld by a vote of 5 to 4. For Democrats, whose worst nightmare is yet to come, a 2nd Supreme Court nomination, Roberts no doubt looks like the beginning of a landslide at the highest court of the land.

Is Roberts the nominee to waste political capital on? There is an opportunity here for the Democrats to avoid fighting the inevitable choice of a conservative now and demonstrate to the voting public a blitz of bi-partisan spirit. In so doing, they would have far more political capital to spend when Bush's second nominee comes before them.

Many liberal groups will bemoan Robert's future rulings against sexual and ethnic diversity, and championing less regulation of business. But, the money they spend bemoaning will be wasted. Robert's record reflects competence and capability when it comes to interpreting and representing the law. They too would be well advised to save their money for Bush's second nominee, which will truly tip the court conservative for possibly a decade or more.

This nomination is a done deal. No alternative to Roberts would be less conservative. Therefore, my advice to the liberals is: Do not make a tempest in a teapot over Roberts, save it for the next pot of tea which will go down far more bitterly.