Karl Rove's Supreme Court Strategy

With Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation today, I have a prediction: O'Connor and Chief Justice William Rehnquist will both retire...Karl Rove will have Bush put up one crazy, wild-eyed conservative lunatic in the John Ashcroft mold, and one hard-right winger who seems "moderate" compared to the crazy...the lunatic goes down to defeat, but the hard-right winger gets through, and Bush replaces the lunatic with another hard-right winger as a "compromise."

If just O'Connor retires, it will be much the same strategy - first nominate a wild-eyed lunatic. It's a win-win for Bush - either the lunatic gets appointed, or the lunatic loses, and then Bush puts up someone a shade less crazy - but equally as conservative - as the "compromise." The media will play along with this storyline, billing the second nominee as "moderate."

The entire effort will be backed up with a huge amount of corporate money. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, Big Business has already announced its intention to push hard for an ultraconservative nominee, as the Court has increasingly weighed in on corporate issues. For instance, as the newspaper notes, "now for the first time, the National Association of Manufacturers, which represents big corporations, is creating a committee of executives to screen the business rulings of prospective nominees."

All of this will put massive pressure on the Senate to ultimately confirm a right-winger. Let's hope Democrats are ready for this two-step.