Republican presidential hopefuls urged to promote conservative justices
WASHINGTON -- A conservative watchdog group wants Republican presidential candidates to speak out about the need for a conservative Supreme Court -- something the group finds lacking today.
The Judicial Crisis Network, led by a former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, began running television and digital ads in Iowa and New Hampshire Monday reminding potential GOP primary voters of the "mistakes" Republican presidents have made with past high court nominations.
As an example, the group cited Chief Justice John Roberts -- a George W. Bush nominee heralded at the time as a solid conservative -- as the type of justice GOP candidates should avoid next time.
"Demand justices with a proven record of upholding the Constitution. We can't afford more surprises," the 30-second spot intones, as photos of Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy and retired justice David Souter appear on the screen. Kennedy was named to the court by Ronald Reagan, Souter by George H.W. Bush.
The $200,000 ad campaign was timed to air before the second Republican presidential debate, scheduled for Wednesday night in California. The debate, sponsored by CNN, will host 11 candidates in prime time and four others, trailing in the polls, two hours earlier.
Carrie Severino, the group's chief counsel, said conservatives were miffed that the question of Supreme Court nominations didn't come up during the first debate in Cleveland last month. The issue is crucial, she said, because the next president could nominate several new justices.
"Conservatives need to learn, and have learned, from the last few appointments," she said, including Roberts, conservative Justice Samuel Alito, and liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. While President Obama's female nominees replaced justices with similar ideologies, Alito proved more conservative than retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and Roberts has been less reliable than former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Looking ahead, Severino said, "it's incredibly likely that the next president will have one of these 'third-rail' nominations" that could alter the court's balance of power.
By the time that president takes office on Jan. 20, 2017, four current justices will be 78 or older. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has rebuffed suggestions that she step down while President Obama is in office, would top the list at 83.
While the issue of Supreme Court nominations has received little attention thus far from the 16 GOP candidates, several of them have been out front. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a former Supreme Court law clerk, has said justices should be subject to retention elections, as many lower court judges are. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has called for term limits.
And Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has lamented that at least five current justices want to expand government rather than limit it. "We need more Scalias and less Sotomayors," he said over the summer.