Bush and McCain: Can You Tell the Difference?

Adam Zimmerman is the Legislative Associate with NARAL Pro-Choice America.

John McCain gave a speech on judges yesterday.  I watched it on TV - that is, when the networks didn't cut away to talk about the D.C. Madam and Uma Thurman's stalker - and I saw him.  The funny thing about it, though, is that I could have sworn it was President Bush doing the talking.  

Before I get to the crux of the speech - which, by the way, was filled with enough right-wing code and buzzwords to make a CIA operative proud - I'll show you what I mean. 

Let's play a game.  There are three sets of quotes below.  Each set includes one quote from McCain's speech today, while the other is a Bush quotes on judges.  See if you can decide which quote belongs to which man (yes, that makes you "the decider").  Answers are posted below each set, so don't scroll down too fast!

Set One Quotes

A) "...the courts exist to exercise not the will of men, but the judgment of law.  My judicial nominees will know the difference."
B) "I will look for...jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference."

Set One Answers

A) Bush
B) McCain (Watch video of this quote)

Set Two Quotes

A) "Unfortunately, some judges give in to temptation and make law instead of interpreting.  Such judicial lawlessness is a threat to our democracy -- and it needs to stop."
B) "The moral authority of our judiciary depends on judicial self-restraint, but this authority quickly vanishes when a court presumes to make law instead of apply it."

Set Two Answers

A) Bush
B) McCain

Set Three Quotes

A) "A judge must be modest enough to appreciate the limited role he plays under the Constitution."
B) "My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power."

Set Three Answers

A) Bush
B) McCain

See what I mean?  Bush and McCain are practically twins when it comes to talking about judges.  I wish I could tell you that McCain's speech was groundbreaking or proposed bold new thinking from the right wing.  Instead, it was the same tired, code-filled speech we've been hearing for the past eight years:  railing against "judicial activism," (i.e. Roe v. Wade), expressing fealty to "judicial restraint," (i.e. overturning Roe v. Wade) and criticizing judges who "make law" (i.e. rulings that the right-wing disagrees with).  The beauty of the right-wing code means that McCain doesn't have to mention Roe or abortion directly, but anti-choice activists know exactly what he means. 

So much for straight talk, huh?  About the closest we came to hearing some of that was when McCain promised to nominate judges in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Sam Alito.  We know what that means, too:  judges who would eviscerate Roe and obliterate reproductive rights.

Actually, to be fair, there was one line in McCain's speech that I really liked:  "The only remedy available to any of us is to find, nominate, and confirm better judges." Couldn't agree more, Senator.  I, for one, could have done without the 303 Bush judicial confirmations over the past seven years.  And the scary part is that there might be more to come.

Take Robert Conrad, for instance. He's been nominated to the 4th Circuit, one of the most significant in the country. Right-wing judges dominated that court for years, but now there's an even split between Democratic and Republican appointees and some vacancies need to be filled.  Bush and the Republicans are crazy for Conrad. 

Why?  Well, he's called Planned Parenthood "a radical, pro-abortion fringe group" that "promotes a radical abortion agenda and "knowingly kills unborn babies."  He served on the board of directors for a so-called "crisis pregnancy center" which spews anti-choice propaganda such as "remember, abortion doesn't erase a mistake - it only adds new ones."  And in an article endorsing dangerous "abstinence-only" programs, Conrad even compared sexually active teenagers to drug dealers and drunk drivers.

What's my point? Not only does his language on judges parrot Bush's, but from Roberts to Alito and everyone in between, John McCain hasn't opposed a SINGLE ONE of President Bush's judicial nominees.  Not one.  You think he'd oppose Conrad? I don't.  You think he'd nominate someone like Conrad as president? I do.  You willing to take that chance? I'm not.

Today, John McCain gave a speech on judges.  It was déjà vu all over again.