Cautious Optimism

No, I’m not about to forgo my inherent cynicism, but the rumor mill has it that Judge Edith Clement is the frontrunner for tonight’s scheduled Supreme Court nomination.

Clement is most assuredly a “conservative.” She’s a member of the explicitly conservative Federalist Society. She’s got a lot of experience representing oil and insurance companies. Hell, she hails from the reliably extreme-right “kill-’em-all” Fifth Circuit. But simply being conservative has never been a point of objection. The truth in this case is that — at least judging by her (admittedly slim) record — there’s no indication that she’s a judicial activist.

See, here’s the thing: As much as the wingnuts rail against so-called “judicial activism,” they’re not even remotely opposed to it. They desperately want judicial activists on the bench. What they oppose is liberal judicial activism.

If Clement is selected, it would actually mean nominating someone who is (or appears to be) neither a liberal nor a conservative judicial activist. And that strikes me as something that both liberals and conservatives can (or at least should) support. Now, it’s always possible that those more dedicated than I will dig up something in her record that’ll rise to the level of “extraordinary circumstances.” (It’s also quite possible that Clement will turn out to be a judicial activist once she reaches the high court.) But barring that (and given her unopposed Senate approval for her current position), such a choice would go a long way toward averting an all-out war. The “nuclear option” may not even come up.

Now, I’m not naïve enough to forget that the whole reason for announcing today is to draw attention away from the White House’s continued harboring of traitors within its walls. So no matter who ends up being named tonight, rest assured that I’m not about to let up one iota on that front; I can only trust that the mainstream media won’t either.

But I’d happily give credit to the Tsar (well, to his handlers anyway) for actually thinking of the needs of the country ahead of vitriolic political extremism for a change.