Many conservatives in Washington are hoping President Bush replaces O??¢â???¬â???¢Connor with either Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit or Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a former member of he California Supreme Court who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by Bush.
Jones was the other finalist in contention for the Supreme Court vacancy when Bush??¢â???¬â???¢s father made the biggest mistake of his administration and named David Souter instead. Jones, a Reagan appointee, has had a stellar career on the appeals court, most notably writing an opinion last September that criticized Roe v. Wade in a decision that reluctantly denied Norma McCorvey, the original plaintiff in Roe, the right to reopen the case in an effort to overturn it. Brown, the African-American daughter of Alabama sharecroppers, is an eloquent defender of free markets, traditional values and the original meaning of the Constitution. The question conservatives are asking: Is Bush bold enough to spark the all-out confirmation battle Senate Democrats would doubtlessly wage against putting either one of these two women on the Supreme Court?
