Democrats 'defanged' by nominee
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Opponents and supports had no idea what to expect from the President when it came to his Supreme Court nominee. But what everyone did know is that it was going to be a battle. John Roberts is causing them all kinds of problems because, so far, the Dems cannot find anything substantial to object to. How are they supposed to obstruct the nomination and try to embarrass the president with such a qualified and liable nominee?

Democrats 'defanged' by nominee

Ready to battle over the president's Supreme Court pick, opponents instead find little to criticize.

WASHINGTON - Democrats and liberal special interest groups had been primed for a fight over President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, expecting it would prove the Republican party was moving to the extreme right.

Instead, Bush gave them Judge John G. Roberts Jr. >>>>>

He is smart, graduating from Harvard in three years. He is well-qualified, arguing 39 cases before the Supreme Court. He is well-liked, winning over both sides in his legal career.

Roberts, a federal judge on the Washington, D.C., court of appeals, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this fall - which leaves Democrats a little unsure how to proceed.

"He's kind of defanged or neutered the Democrats at this point," said Richard Born, a congressional expert at Vassar College. "He just doesn't give the Democrats a lot to work with."

Democratic senators have been quiet on Roberts nomination, voicing no outright opposition and refusing to criticize when baited by reporters. Instead, they have praised him. "John Roberts has had an impressive legal career," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said. "Both in government and in private practice, he has been a zealous and often successful advocate for his clients. He has argued many cases before the Supreme Court and is respected for his legal skills. By all accounts he is a very nice man."

There's more:

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut said he is "a credible nominee." Sen. Barbara Boxer of California described him as "a very affable individual." Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said he "has outstanding legal credentials and an appropriate legal temperament and demeanor."

Roberts got none of the criticism Robert Bork did from Democrats when he was nominated for the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 - and later rejected by the Senate.

"They didn't get the guy they thought they were going to get," said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes the Senate for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. "They expected the son of Robert Bork."

Roberts spent three days this week visiting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold his confirmation hearings in August or September. The Democrats, like their Republican colleagues, played nice, exchanging pleasantries and smiling for photos.

All of them talked of reserving judgment about Roberts and said the confirmation hearings should be fair.

"It is critical ... that we not prejudge a nominee," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, one of the most outspoken and liberal Democrats on the committee, said that "historically, there's always a honeymoon period for the nominee."

"He's pretty much a blank slate as to where he stands," he said. "Blanks have to filled in."

As the summer drags on, the talk is expected to heat up. Still, Roberts is expected to be confirmed, barring any startling discovery in his background.

Kennedy and two other Democratic committee members voted against Roberts for D.C. Court of Appeals two years ago, but he was approved by voice vote in the full Senate.

"When you nominate someone of the caliber of Judge Roberts, you take away every credible argument the Democrats might have had" to oppose him, said Sen. Rick Santorum, third-ranking Republican in the Senate.

With only 44 of 100 seats in the Senate, Democrats are limited in their ability to oppose a nominee. They could try to use a filibuster - a parliamentary procedure to prolong debate - but a May agreement by 14 senators makes that difficult.

The so-called Gang of 14 - seven Republicans and seven Democrats - cut a deal on judicial nominees that allows for a filibuster only under "extraordinary circumstances" - a phrase left undefined.

The group represents enough votes to prevent Democrats from being able to filibuster, and Republicans from changing the rules to override a filibuster.

Several Democrats said this week that Roberts is well-qualified, and they doubt their party would try to filibuster his confirmation. The filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee is almost unheard of, and would likely end in political squabbling that would bring the business and cooperation of the Senate to a halt.

"At the end of the hearings we do not anticipate anything that would be a stickler, that would rise to the level of extraordinary circumstances," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., one of the Gang of 14. "But you can't come to that conclusion until the end of the entire process."

Democrats would have benefited from a real fight - so they could try to show that the Republican party is moving more to the right, fire up their base and placate special interest groups.

But now that the majority of people have accepted Roberts as well-qualified, Democrats don't want to be seen as obstructionist.

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll this week shows 51 percent of those polled called the choice of Roberts excellent or good; 34 percent called it fair or poor; and the rest had no opinion. A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed 59 percent in favor of his confirmation; 23 percent opposed; and the rest undecided.

Democrats "don't have a strong strategic position," said John Fortier, a political scientist who studies Congress for the American Enterprise Institute. "You'd have to have some strong argument. Right now to make lots of noise against him, there is no ammunition."

St. Petersburg Times Washington bureau chief Bill Adair and researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report.
St. Petersburg Times ~ Anita Kumar ** Democrats 'defanged' by nominee