Centerfield

The Gang of 14 is back in action today; they met for breakfast. I haven't yet seen any post-meeting reports, but I did a windup post last night on the meeting and the state of consultation between the White House and senators. There's also a followup this morning on a Maine newspaper article profiling Snowe and Collins' roles in all this.

So far, so good on the consultation front, and thus far, the Gang of 14 are sticking together. I have to say, I'm impressed and surprised at both. Will it mean anything in the long run? I dunno. But it's not bad so far.

The big question I keep asking myself is, what is making Orrin Hatch so cranky? He's been the grumpiest guy since the retirement. Sheesh.

One other thing to notice today - among "new names" floated in the WaPo article today is Larry Thompson, the former deputy a.g. If he's under serious consideration, he would be a very interesting and centrist-minded choice.

The Boston Globe has been rousing the rabble over an unearthed comment of Rick Santorum's from 2001 or 2002. The renowned knucklehead suggested that it was Boston's liberal sexual atmosphere and egghead population that provided a fostering environment for the clergy sex abuse scandal, which was centered in Boston at the time, but came to be an issue all over the place.

Of course Santorum's ignorance and belligerence are well-known, but this is really a new low in cheap shottery. And Santorum is a catholic himself. He should know that the Catholic's church's ongoing choices to engage in a policy of cover-up and minimizing of the issue of clergy child sexual abuse is the fault of the culture of the church's hierarchy.

I'm not going to be a frother and call upon GOP party leaders to censure their guy. What he said is a disgrace and an insult, and I know it. It changes nothing about my opinion of the guy. The GOP can do whatever they want. But I may make some judgements about them based on whether and how they decide to act in response to his words, which are obviously a disgrace to responsible conservatives. I'm looking for those who were really hard on Howard Dean to eschew any sort of apologia for Santorum. At the same time, those who acted as apologists for Dean are on shaky ground excoriating Santorum.

re: the gang of 14 and the upcoming SC replacements.

I speculated upon SD O'C's retirement that we'd end up with appointments, one a moderate conservative, and the other a 3/4 of a loaf winner for conservatives, fitting the Scalia/Thomas mold.

IWith Bush's statements about Gonzales, what I know of his feelings about friends and loyalty, and with Rehnquist back in the hospital, I'll update my forecast:

Gonzales, and an originalist-leaning but open-minded seeming justice to be named later.

Brian,

I agree with you about Santorum's comments. For what it's worth, most of the right-leaning bloggers I've seen have criticized his comments on the subject, to the extent they bother to comment at all. Do you know if Kennedy had any good reason for bringing up Santorum's comments now, several years later? Had Santorum recently reaffirmed them or something, or did Kennedy just reach into the history book for an excuse to cause a little conflict?

To tag onto Brian's comments...

My prediction for the moderate pick: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez

My prediction for the Conservative pick: Senator John Cornyn of Texas

And I must say, for all of the predictions about George W. Bush creating a right wing court, it is pretty clear that after the next two appointments, nothing much will change unless Gonzalez is more conservative than everybody says he is.

Rick Santorum... Going to enjoy watching him lose badly to Bob Casey.

Matt,

That PA senate race is important for moderates in the Democratic Party. It remains to be seen if we are able to unite behind a pro-life candidate. If so it mean that moderates have a voice in the party. I am cautiously optimistic that we can pull together. On the other hand I worry that the far left Kos/Dean faction does not tolerate any dissent from their dogma. If they bolt it could be a harbinger of bad things to come.

Right on, Mathew. The good people of Pennsylvania seem (if recent polls are any sort of indication) to have had quite enough of Santorum. I almost wish I lived in PA just so I could pull the lever for Casey.

bk and Mathew - I think you might be onto something there with Gonzales (and Cornyn is a possibility as well). Thompson would really be an interesting choice though, and possible hard(er) to oppose - just in looking around last night I found just-about-universal praise for him when he left the DOJ (from right and left).

Pat - As to Santorum's reaffirmation of his comments, he said something to that effect in an interview with the Boston Globe earlier this week, although I have misplaced the link. That's Kennedy's purpose (I guess) in stirring the fire with it now.

Count me as a moderate Republican who hopes Casey can pull it off. I always had the utmost respect for his father, and I think he'd be a great addition to the US Senate.

While I find it amusing that Santorum's comments are only being challenged two years after they were given, that in no way lessens the utter stupidity of his comments. I've repeatedly said that he's probably the GOP Senator I'd most love to see out of office.

All moderates, whether Republican or Democrat, win when a centrist member of either party replaces a demagogue. Another moderate Democratic Senator will force the GOP to field some of the same. We all win.

Actually, AR, my motives are not quite as pure as all that. I want to strengthen the Democratic Party. I see a move to the center as the best way to accomplish this goal.

Without digging back for all to the particulars, what I know is that a Globe columnist called attention to santorum's comments, but I am not sure if that is who is ultimately responsible for dredging them up i the first place. The guy (might've been Scott Lehigh, but I can't be sure) might've found the comments himself, or been fed them by just about anyone. Maybe he was even holding on to them for a day when he had nothing else to write about.

So unless it was kennedy's people who dredged up and fed out the quotes (the impact of which was exacerbated greatly by the santorum camp's foolish willingness to stick to their guns,) Kennedy is just enjoying the opportunity to pile on. In other words, predictable opportunism yes, initiation of rabble-rousing apparently no.

Both saying stupid things and piling on are truly venerable traditions in politics.

On July 1st, we first noted that various organizations had bought up web addresses in anticipation of a Supreme Court nomination PR war. On July 6, Byron York of National Review also took note, and published an article on it. I speculated at the time of the original post on the absence of Edith Clement's name from the list-buying. That apparent oversight has since been rectified. On July 8, one week after we first noticed it and two days after York's article, People For The American Way bought the web address STOPCLEMENT.ORG.

The Chief Justice has been released from hospital, and has finally given a public statement on his plans r.e. remaining on the bench. SCOTUSblog follows up.

"Just hold your water, I'm not leaving until they carry me out." Essentially.

Dean Barnettt today comments on (and revises and extends) a negative effect of blogs in general (and Daily Kos in particular) on their readers.

A new centrist blog called donklephant launched yesterday.