The Manchurian Nominee

Today at Noon the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the confirmation of John G. Roberts as Chief Justice will begin.

David Seldin over at the Fly Trap says that Democrats need to learn to counter "The Manchurian Candidate" strategy, which people like John Roberts have seem to perfected:

Roberts has seemingly spent the last several decades perfecting the art of appearing non-threatening. The most obvious explanation for the difference between his sharp, vociferous Reagan-era memos and his studied public blandness in more recent years was that he had his eye on the prize. He knew in a post-Bork world that articulating conservatives principles in an unembarrassed way can lead to trouble. And he knew that much of the "liberal" establishment could be won over through charm and intellect.

This concerns me greatly, because Democrats need more than a "Chicago Way" fighting style ("Here's how, they pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way, and that's how you get Capone!") to defeat what is really a Republican con game. They have a network of legal activists, and a language for covering up legal activism, Seldin says, "that would let them know who they could trust without attracting too much legal notice. The perfect expressions of this strategy is the Federalist Society, which managed to be both hugely influential in the halls of power and as quiet as they can get away with being in public." And John Roberts is their Raymond Shaw.

Chris Bowers thinks that Roberts can be stopped. He will be in DC to help lead the blogger opposition and given the latest poll numbers, less than half the country is ready to see Roberts confirmed, a number that appears to be dropping. Says Chris: "If the party can't stand up now when Bush is weaker than he has ever been, then we are pathetic."

Today's New York Times carries a cautionary tale from Clarence Thomas, of all people:

Yet while it may appear at the outset that the confirmation of Judge Roberts is all but assured, memories of bitterly contested confirmation hearings for Robert H. Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991 are still fresh on Capitol Hill, and many senators know from experience that there are no guarantees.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and a committee member, recounted a recent conversation with Justice Thomas: "I said, 'It looks like the Roberts nomination is going pretty smooth.' He said, 'Chuck, remember, I was nominated in July, and I didn't become controversial until October.' "

While the hearings may not disintegrate into a food fight, be assured that both sides have been conducting extensive mock hearings to prep for today.

People for the American Way have made their position pretty clear with respect to Roberts' record:

The White House has broken with precedent and unfortunately continues to deny the Senate access to key documents from Roberts' time as second-in-command to Ken Starr in the solicitor general's office in the Bush I Administration. In the absence of such documents, we must assume that the views expressed in the briefs Roberts signed during his tenure are in fact his own.

If you write lots of letters to the editor, the DNC has launched a new LTE tool to help. Initial feedback appears positive.