Only in DC
So last night my lady and I sort of accidentally wound up having dinner at the bar at Restaurant Nora. We got engaged there last year and are planning to have our rehearsal dinner there this fall, and we stopped by around 8 to look at the room, planning to go have enchiladas at Lauriol afterwards. Suffice to say that the manager suggested we try some wine at the bar. The bartender was great to us, and lots of fun to talk to. So, when it started to pour down rain, we figured we might as well have a snack and some more wine, and wait out the storm.
Several hours of excellent wine, wonderful food, and amazing bourbon and rye later, we'd spent a fair amount of time talking to a couple seated next to us at the bar, who were there to taste wine for their own event.
Turns out he is a DC lawyer who says he's not a Republican, but that he knows Scalia, Thomas, and John Roberts socially. He spoke very highly of Roberts on a personal and temperamental basis, and he suggested that while Roberts will likely be right of O'Connor in many ways, he is unlikely to pursue radical changes for their own sake. He even offered (we didn't ask) that he thinks it very unlikely that Roberts would vote to overrule Roe. His comment was that Roberts was as good a nominee as Democrats could possibly expect.
Very interesting evening.
Several hours of excellent wine, wonderful food, and amazing bourbon and rye later, we'd spent a fair amount of time talking to a couple seated next to us at the bar, who were there to taste wine for their own event.
Turns out he is a DC lawyer who says he's not a Republican, but that he knows Scalia, Thomas, and John Roberts socially. He spoke very highly of Roberts on a personal and temperamental basis, and he suggested that while Roberts will likely be right of O'Connor in many ways, he is unlikely to pursue radical changes for their own sake. He even offered (we didn't ask) that he thinks it very unlikely that Roberts would vote to overrule Roe. His comment was that Roberts was as good a nominee as Democrats could possibly expect.
Very interesting evening.
posted by Jonah B. Gelbach at 1:50 PM
5 Comments:
I would expect all justices to avoid pursuing changes "for their own sake." Your scouting report echoed others that have been in the media: Roberts is a nice guy, smart, and as non-ideological as we're likely to get from W. This doesn't mean that Roberts won't pursue change (re Roe) if he thinks it's right to do so.
Let's face it: we're all grabbing at straws. We lost last November and will be lucky if W gives us a nominee we can live some of the time with.
agreed. i've read the same news reports you have. i just thought it was interesting to talk to someone who both (i) is a lawyer, and (ii) knows the guy.
none of which is to say that our new friend is necessarily right....
Off topic but I had a colleague who thought that the Roberts pick bodes well for the Fed chairman selection in terms of the thinking that went behind it.
It suggests someone like a Feldstein who is ideological but respects the position and understands the importance of Fed independence compared to say Hubbard or Lindsey who I perceive as closer to outright hacks. (bernanke would be my hope but my fear is that if Cheney read that Krugman likes him that it might kill his chances.)
In any case, I remain very concerned
about both Roberts and the Fed position.
looks like we have our first rightwing nut posing as a liberal here at ccm....
Anon must be shy too. Note nothing was said about Robert's sex. Clue #1
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