Jun 29, 2005
Harry Reid and the Supreme Court
Senate Democratic Minority leader has proposed several names of 4 moderate Republican Senators, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Mike Crapo of Idaho, as candidates for the (so far) non-vacancy on the Supreme Court, adding that they were bright and able lawyers who would make outstanding justices. It is difficult to know what is the stranger spectacle--a minority party leader publicly offering such advice to the President of the opposing party, or suggesting Red State moderates whose removal from the Senate would undoubtedly make way for reliably right-wingers to be appointed by their respective Red state governors!
Reid, moreover, pointed out that 10 justices have come from the Senate over the years. The past hardly offers reassurance on this score. With the towering exception of Hugo Black, the Senators who have been raised to the High Court in the 20th Century (e.g. Harold Burton and Sherman Minton) have had relatively brief and undistinguished careers on the Court, and in the case of James Byrnes, the most distinguished of the crowd, quickly escaped. If we go by the similarly limited vistas of the 20th century, state governors (Frank Murphy, Earl Warren) are a more reliable bet.
Reid, moreover, pointed out that 10 justices have come from the Senate over the years. The past hardly offers reassurance on this score. With the towering exception of Hugo Black, the Senators who have been raised to the High Court in the 20th Century (e.g. Harold Burton and Sherman Minton) have had relatively brief and undistinguished careers on the Court, and in the case of James Byrnes, the most distinguished of the crowd, quickly escaped. If we go by the similarly limited vistas of the 20th century, state governors (Frank Murphy, Earl Warren) are a more reliable bet.