[Mb-civic] Are a Nominee's Views Fair Game? - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Are a Nominee's Views Fair Game?

As High Court Battle Nears, Parties Parse the Senate Filibuster Deal

By Peter Baker and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 6, 2005; Page A01

The White House and Senate Democrats headed toward a collision yesterday 
over the role ideology should play in the selection of the next Supreme 
Court justice, outlining a key conflict that could define the nomination 
battle over a successor to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political architect, said precedents 
from the most recent Supreme Court vacancies suggest that 
opposition-party senators have a responsibility to back a president's 
choice if they believe a nominee is qualified, even if they disagree 
with the person's views. He also maintained that a strongly held 
ideological stance would not amount to "extraordinary circumstances" 
justifying a Democratic filibuster under a recent bipartisan Senate deal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/05/AR2005070501698.html
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