The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has been postponed until Monday now that President Bush has tapped him to replace William H. Rehnquist. Civil rights groups had voiced opposition to Roberts even before he was elevated to chief justice (and here). They don’t want him on the Supreme Court, period.
And far from being “obligatory,” civil rights groups oppose (here and here) Roberts because he poses a threat to African Americans’ vital interests (and here). Here’s my buddy DeWayne Wickham’s take (links added):
His nomination last month by President Bush to fill the Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor came in the wake of yet another filibuster deal. This one was done ostensibly to keep the Senate's Republican majority from voting into effect its "nuclear option," which would have blocked Democrats from filibustering any of Bush's judicial nominations.
The compromise, which was struck by seven moderate Democrats and seven moderate Republicans who have been branded the "Gang of 14," allows Democrats to filibuster a judicial nominee only under "extraordinary circumstances." Several key members of this group say that exception can be triggered only when serious questions about a nominee's ethics or character arise.
If this interpretation holds, Roberts' confirmation is all but assured. Even more chilling for me is the fear that his elevation to the Supreme Court will usher in an end to the Second Reconstruction.
The First Reconstruction — which began shortly after the Civil War ended — was a brief period of political enfranchisement and economic growth for blacks. It ended soon after congressional Democrats agreed to stop contesting the outcome of the 1876 presidential election. In return, Republicans, who controlled the Senate and White House, promised to withdraw federal troops from the South.
That deal effectively ended Reconstruction and paved the way for the imposition of Jim Crow laws throughout the South. These laws reversed the gains that had been made by blacks and plunged the race into a condition of neo-slavery for nearly 90 years.
If confirmed, Roberts will give the Supreme Court the solid conservative majority it needs to bring to an end the Second Reconstruction, which began 41 years ago with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And if this happens, Democrats, not conservative Republicans, should incur the wrath of black voters.Senate Democrats have plenty of indications that blacks will pay for the filibuster deal that they seem all too willing to go along with, if Roberts is seated on the court.
