This "conservatives wary of Roberts re gay rights case" is SO transparent.

[Brotherjohn]

It's such a transparent ploy. I'd bet the White House made sure this little bit of information got out.

They did the same thing when Alberto Gonzales was being discussed as a possibility (you know, before his name became linked to the CIA leak scandal). All of a sudden it was news that CONSERVATIVES were upset at the possibility of Gonzales on the court, NOT liberals... because we just weren't quite sure what his opinions on abortion were. The whole thing smacked of a WH-generated PR push to give the impression that torture-boy was moderate, when you know damn well that whatever his opinions were, he'd make whatever ruling the White House wanted.

So now conservatives are "worried" about Roberts... because of ONE case he took on pro bono years ago as a lawyer in a firm. Yeah, right.

Now, when push comes to shove, Bush is going to say "Look, I can't make anybody happy. The right is mad at him for one thing, the left for another. I think that shows he's pretty moderate, don't you?"

[sui generis]

1. completely agree

that is the historical strategy.

"If our people can accept him in spite of his flaws, surely you liberals, who already owe him one, should accept him too. You're being unreasonable."

[Lerkfish]

2. correct.

[jbonkowski70]

3. Ann Coulter started complaining about Roberts immediately

She started complaining before even having anything to complain about. It smelled to me like an attempt to create false balance in the response to Roberts, so the WH can claim how moderate he is.

[sui generis]

6. speaking of Mizz Coulter and the new Struggle Against Violent Extremism

didn't Mister Thang say something about rounding up liberals and putting us in concentration camps? About killing atheists and queers?

Hmmmmmm - methinks it's time she got put on a 'no-fly' list.

[NewJeffCT]

8. welcome to DU, and you are 100% correct

Free Republic & Coulter started bashing him immediately... it only makes Falwell & Dobson seem more moderate when they say Roberts is okay with them.

[Wabbajack]

4. Hardly seems neccesary

looked to me like most of our Senate Dems were rolling over for him before this.

[Goldmund]

5. I disagree

I deeply believe that BushCo doesn't care at all about cultural issues such as abortion and gay rights. When it comes to appointing a SC justice, they want two things: 1) political mileage and 2) A corporatist-friendly judge. Number 1) is undercut if social conservatives think they're being shafted, and 2) isn't affected by disclosures about gay rights.

[iconoclastic cat]

7. Maybe they're trying to make sure Roberts gets the boot

without having Bush look weak.

[hunter]

9. Roberts was there to put out a fire.

This case was in 1996, Clinton was president, and Roberts worked against a Colorado referendum that would have allowed discrimination against gays.

This case was in 1996, folks, not back in some political stone age, and it concerned a referendum that would revised the Colorado constitution to bar the enactment of any anti-discrimination protections for homosexuals. In other words, landlords would be able to evict people because they were gay, and employers would be able to fire people because they were gay, hospitals would be able to bar visits by gay partners, etc., etc., etc.

Implementation of this referendum would have exposed the GOD DAMNED BIGOTED STUPIDITY OF THE RIGHT WING for all the world to see, but Roberts was right there to remove this festering tumor from his party with his usual, one might call it "surgical," legal precision. The patient lived and went on to vote for George W. Bush.

I haven't seen any evidence that Roberts has ever been anything but a knife for the GOP elite.

The abortion issue, the gay rights issue, these are simply smoke. Roberts is all about protecting the corrupt relationships large corporations have with the federal government.

Going all the way back to the invasion of Grenada, which was a political experiment by the Reagan administration to see how a President might invade another nation with little or no pretext, you'll see Roberts on the front lines:

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/goldberg.pdf

I am so irritated with this "Roberts ain't so bad" crap. Brotherjohn, you are absolutely correct. It is, as you say, "such a transparent ploy."