Replacing the Chief Justice in Dignity

It has been several days since the unfortunate passing of Chief Justice Rhenquist. I must confess that I had hoped he would live to serve another twenty years on the Supreme Court. In my mind this man was one of our great justices, a true believer in the the Consitution as the founding fathers have written it, and a good and just man. His passing is a tragedy for America because it takes a man who has been vital preventing judicial tyrrany out of the Supreme Court.
It occurs to me that the best way to honor the Chief Justice's memory is to pick a successor who will be as decent, knowledgable, logical, and true to the Constitution as he was. I think President Bush has done this by naming John Roberts as his successor. I am not an expert on John Roberts, in fact I never heard of him until President Bush nominated him to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Sinc his nomination I have heard and read many thing about the man that make me think he is just what we need on the Supreme Court. For a more knowledgable account of the man I reccommend going to http://www.aclj.com/ and reading what they have to say about him at the American Center for Law and Justice.
This also reopens the issue of who should replace Sandra Day O'Connor. I said it before and I say it again. Replace her with Janice Rogers Brown! This is a smart move both judicially and politically. Judiciously she is a conservative woman who is also just plain brilliant. She, like the remaining conservative Supreme Court Justices actually understands the the original intent of the Costitution as it is written, and will not betray the American people with judicial activism. Politically, she is a woman to replace a woman. She is African American. She has already been confirmed to a federal appeals court. If the Democrats want to fight her nomination or try to fillibuster her again they will be committing political suicide by alienating both women and minorities. There are some Senators who will try to do just this. When they show just how racist and sexist they are I say we vote them out of office regardless of party affiliation. There is no legitimate rerason not to confirm this amazing woman to the Supreme Court.
Doing this also opens up Janice Browns seat on the federal appeals court. If I were President I would name Miguel Estrada to replace her on this seat. He is a brilliant conservative judge who would serve America very well as long as he chooses to serve. Then, when Justice Stevens retires or dies, which, considering his age could be any day either way ( I would be surprised if he decided to keep working for another three and a half years) Presdent Bush could nominate Miguel Estrada to take his seat on the Supreme Court. After two-hundred and thirty years or so it's about time we had a Latino on the court. The fact that Miguel Estrada is also a brilliant jurist and a staunch conservative who knows and understands the Constitution is what makes him the man for this historic job.
I do not agree with everything President Bush does. His cronyism is dismaying. His timing for going into Iraq was horrendous even though it needed to be done. He spends money like Ted Kennedy on a bender. The way he keeps secrets that don't need keeping is just plain stupid and is a mistake a man of his intelligence should not make. Despit this, I believe he has been a great President in almost every other aspect of great importance. He has led through a recession and back into great prosprity. He has stimulated the job market. He has cut taxes. He has stimulated debate on Social Security reform that will eventually, hopefully lead to a solution for the looming problems there. He has handled several major disasters with expertise. He has been honest when he has not ben busy keeping secrets. And most importantly, he has been rebalancing the government by placing conservatives in every major court position that comes available. This, more than anything else, is why I voted for Bush. This is important work, and only a conservative President with lots of courage will do it. We have that in President Bush. I belive he will honor Chief Justice Rhenquist's memory, and his promise to the American people with his future court appointees. While I have told you what I think would be the best course of action for nominations to the Supreme Court I do not demand it from the President. He has shown that he can be trusted to do this right, even if he picks someone I might not have.
Rest In peace Justice Rhenquist. America will miss you. Your memory will be honored.