I am an extremist!

Since the announced retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the polticos are bantering using typical political dialogue. The Democrats suggest that the President should be advised by their troupe. They warn that the President not select an extremist (under their breath they mention people like Antonin Scalia). Rather, he should seek middle ground on this issue, like President Clinton had done.

I have a very big problem with this for two reasons: first, the term "extremist" has come to mean someone who is ideolocially consistent. Unless you are willing to compromise your integrity, you are an extremist. I am truly SHOCKED that the people are willing to accept this assinign definition by such un-ideologically driven representatives, such as Senator Charles Schumer (D - NY) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D - MA). Are you kidding me? Have people gone crazy. Of course we want justices who are ideologically consistent. We don't need weak minded people who are willing to compromise the wisdom of our founding documents for political expediency.

Second, Presidents will always (and should always) select those individuals whom they believe will see cases through their own ideological framework. I don't care what anyone will try to tell me, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not a moderate. In fact, for conservatives, she is the antithesis. As an abortion advocate, no conservative Senator would have advised support for her candidacy. However, despite this, she was selected and confirmed by a vote of 97 to 3. This is despite the fact that she has consistently voted in a manner diametrically opposed to by conservatives. Hell, they knew she would.

So Senators Kennedy and Schumer, while you are expert politicians, please don't mislead the American public into believing that it is people like President Bush who are inflaming the partisianship in government these days. In fact it is people exactly like you and your Republican counterparts.