Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990 TAG: 9007240527
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JACK NELSON LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
While nothing can guarantee that the nominee - former New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice David Souter - will experience smooth sailing at his Senate confirmation hearings, Democrats as well as Republicans predicted Monday that Souter probably will be confirmed without a drawn-out struggle unless there are unforeseen developments.
Souter, returned to the White House today for briefings on the confirmation process in the Senate. White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that the president would formally submit Souter's nomination on Wednesday, and that the nominee would then begin making the rounds of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Souter was meeting today with Frederick D. McClure, Bush's congressional liaison, to help prepare him with the meetings with senators.
"It is just the normal practice associated with new nominees," McClure said in an interview. "We're going to have a chit chat about what lies ahead over the next few weeks."
McClure said Souter will meet first with members of the Senate leadership, then with committee members, and with any other senators who want to meet him.
The selection of Souter seemed likely to accomplish the politically difficult feat of simultaneously frustrating liberals, pleasing foes of abortion and doctrinaire conservatives, and reassuring moderate Republican political strategists who worried that the selection of an outspoken anti-abortionist could damage GOP candidates next November.
In the Senate, for example, Ohio Democrat Howard Metzenbaum, a liberal who would be likely to lead any attack against a conservative nominee, declared: "This senator has heard nothing negative. I have certainly heard he has a very strong positive record."
Similarly, Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., a moderate who has been a swing vote on previous Supreme Court nominations, said that Souter "appears to be very, very capable" and probably is headed for confirmation.
Such sentiments were reinforced by the strong support Souter's nomination received from Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., widely respected in the Senate by both Republicans and Democrats.
As a veteran judge first on the New Hampshire Superior Court and later on the state's highest court, Souter - who was appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by Bush earlier this year but was not confirmed until last month - has had little direct involvement in the major national issues that have embroiled the U.S. Supreme Court in controversy.
That means that liberals, while uneasy about what they assume will be Souter's conservative bent, may be hard-pressed to find concrete grounds for opposing him - as leaders of several abortion rights and liberal groups privately acknowledged Monday night.
Bush himself did nothing to allay their unease when, during his White House appearance with Souter, he made a point of praising Brennan, a hero to many liberals, as "one of the greatest figures of our age."
In selecting Souter, Bush said, he had "looked for the same dedication to public service and strength of intellect exemplified by Justice Brennan."
Conservatives, for their part, are likely to be reassured by the fact that Souter - while having little or no public record on the issues they consider vital - has the strong support of White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, whose conservative credentials are unassailable.
Republican conservatives have been upset with Bush on a number of issues, including his decision to renounce his no-new-taxes pledge. But even longtime Bush critic Richard Viguerie, chairman of United Conservatives of America, said the president, by nominating Souter, had taken "the first step in repairing the split between himself and the conservatives."
And veteran Democratic strategist Richard Moe conceded that, considering Souter's credentials, "if he doesn't have a record on abortion, he should be confirmable without a big battle. And if he's Sununu's guy, Bush is feeding raw meat to the conservatives."
Sununu, while serving as New Hampshire governor, appointed Souter to the state's Supreme Court. However, sources said that Souter probably is closer to the moderate Rudman than he is to the White House chief of staff.
While administration officials clearly believe that Souter is a wise political choice, they acknowledge that, because of the explosiveness of the abortion issue, he is likely to be subjected to a searching examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"From what I know and hear, the nomination should be reassuring to conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats," said a senior White House official who asked not to be identified. "But everyone here has a healthy regard for the review process and it remains to be seen how difficult the confirmation hearings will be."
For the immediate future, strategists in both parties said that, while Souter's selection makes political sense, at best Bush has only forestalled an electoral showdown on the abortion issue. "Without question, this coming right before an election will make abortion more dramatic and more salient in the [November] elections," said Republican pollster Bill McInturff.
With polls showing that many voters oppose a ban on abortion - and most GOP candidates in key races are on record as supporting more restrictions - Bush's party could be in for new headaches. Democratic pollster Alan Secrest called it "a political wild card in an already turbulent year" and said: "This could be one of several catalysts for a partisan tide."
A lot may depend on how Souter handles himself at the confirmation hearings and on how the hearings are conducted.
At Monday's news conference, at which Bush announced his selection, Souter refrained from replying to questions about his position on abortion. And Bush made it clear that it's up to Souter to decide whether he wants to reveal his thinking on the issue when he is questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I think the president has finessed the abortion issue," said a White House aide who declined to be identified. "There's no record of how Souter stands on the issue and he doesn't have to answer that question at the confirmation hearings."
by CNB