AnalPhilosopher

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is dead at 80. See here. He was a good federalist. Unfortunately, he stayed on the Supreme Court too long. He should have stepped down years ago, or at least after a Republican assumed the presidency in January 2001. See here for my criticism of his stubbornness.

Addendum: Liberals love to talk about "balance" on the Supreme Court. It's a stupid idea, frankly, but let's take it seriously for a moment. Liberals will have a hard time making a case that President Bush should nominate someone to the left of Justice Rehnquist. If being elected president means anything, President Bush should be able to replace any justice with someone to his or her right. Otherwise, what's the point of having elections? Since Justice Rehnquist was on the right (liberals would say "far right"), President Bush should get any nominee he wants. Of course, liberals will fight anyone he nominates, so their talk about "balance," like most of their talk, is disingenuous.

Addendum 2: My first choice for the Supreme Court was Michael W. McConnell. I hope he gets nominated this time. My main concern is getting federalists on the Court. This is why I'm delighted with John Roberts. He has a healthy sense of the limits of federal power. Liberals seem not to realize that ours is a limited government. Not every problem is within the province of Congress. The job of the Supreme Court is to strike down those laws that exceed congressional authority.

Addendum 3: It's been less than an hour since Justice Rehnquist's death was reported. I was talking to my mother on the telephone when she saw something on her television about it. A few seconds ago, I found the Wikipedia entry on Justice Rehnquist. Someone had updated it already. Amazing.

Addendum 4: Here, for those of you who haven't read it, is Justice Rehnquist's dissenting opinion in Roe v. Wade.

Addendum 5: Carol Platt Liebau has a long post about Justice Rehnquist. See here.