Gonzales is Simply Unfit
There is a big buzz in the blogosphere over the possibility that President Bush would nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the United States Supreme Court as Justice O’Connor’s replacement. Erick at Confirm Them informs that Karl Rove is pressuring W. to nominate Gonzales. Rove’s political exertion (a deft and calculated one) is likely the product of his affinity for Republican base expansion rather that one based on core, fundamental Republican principles. How much weight will Bush grant Rove? That’s hard to say or know with any degree of certainity. Electorally speaking, Rove’s recommendation would probably carry a great deal of weight. Bush’s selection of Judge Roberts (white male) was hardly an electoral move. Moreover, Bush has repeatedly promised that he would nominate judges in the mold of Scalia and Thomas. Gonzales does not oppose affirmative action like Scalia and Thomas, which is why Rove would have to paint Gonzales as conservative in order for Bush to nominate him.
Gonzales apparent campaigning for the Supreme Court nomination underscores why he is simply unfit for the Supreme Court. You shouldn’t have to campaign for your conservatism if you truly are a conservative. Strikingly, Gonzales’s reign in the AG’s office has been a silent one compared to the conservative John Ashcroft’s administration. Ashcroft was constantly berated by the MSM and liberals for his stance on the Patriot Act and conservative values he instilled while in office. Ashcroft is pro-life and opposes same-sex marriage, two views that Gonzales might or might not share.
W. needs to select the most qualified socially conservative candidate and not a good buddy. He needs to find someone opposed to same-sex marriage by judicial fiat, a man or woman who strictly interprets the Constitution and who is sufficiently grounded in their ideals that hand-wringing by the press or the law school elites will not nudge him or her into a squalid moral relativism that displaces the values of the citizenry and exalts the radical impulses of a meager few.
Gonzales, in my view, is not worthy of Bush’s nomination. Even if (and it’s a big if) Gonzales would be a justice like Scalia or Thomas, Bush must appoint someone with verifiable and weatherworn conservative credentials–credentials The Honorable Alberto Gonzales does not possess.