It would be nice to think stopping the nuclear option and holding firm against the more extremist nominees would end the threat but this is the reality...the pool for future Supreme and Appeals court appointments have been stocked for years with conservative activists. It's not just Bush, he just happens to be the one in place when the plan came to fruition.

We've already seen the Supreme Court support the right of people to file disparate impact claims of age discrimination where racial discrimination claims of that type can only be filed by the Offoce of Civil Rights. The Supreme Court has also suggested a 25 year limit on affirmative action efforts...a sunset provision you can be sure will see no support for extension.

Since this planned judiciary can be expected to support any challenge to civil rights legislation that is brought before it, Black folks need to get prepared for a more hostile environment. This is a warning that's been heard before, but it's always couched in terms of resisting the change.

I'm telling you that, as far as Black folks are concerned, the change has taken place. I'm telling you your plans must assume you live in a Red state.

Anyway...

Conservatives near lock on US courts
Senators will consider new judicial nominees Thursday. GOP-appointed judges already control 10 of 13 appeals courts.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

As Democrats and Republicans in Washington prepare for an expected showdown over the use of filibusters to stall judicial nominees, President Bush is already well on his way to recasting the nation's federal appeals courts in a more conservative mold.

Republican appointees now constitute a majority of judges on 10 of the nation's 13 federal appeals courts. As few as three more lifetime appointments on key courts would tip the balance in favor of GOP appointees on all but one appeals court - the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The confrontation over judges heats up Thursday with the Senate Judiciary Committee expected to send a second appeals court candidate to the full Senate for a possible vote. The process is being closely watched because if either nomination triggers a filibuster, it could provide the vehicle for Republican senators to launch the so-called nuclear option, which would squelch filibusters.

It will be up to Senate majority leader Bill Frist to decide when to schedule a floor vote on Thomas Griffith, nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. William Myers, a nominee to the Ninth Circuit, is also pending a floor vote.

Even if Republicans refrain from a nuclear option in these proceedings, legal analysts say the Bush administration is already accomplishing a significant shift within the federal judiciary. By winning a second term, he is well positioned to leave a presidential legacy that could take Democrats a decade or more to reverse.