By Jeremy Schupbach, jshoebox@mac.com It appears that the White House is getting ready to release even more documents on John Roberts. I understand that the strategery is to suck the venom out of the Democratic opposition by cooperating throughout the process, and hope that the civility will be returned. It won't be.
As this Washington Post article illustrates, there is more and more pressure being brought to bear from activist groups on the left. Liberal groups are combing through Reagan Era documents -which were once, as still should be, covered by Executive Privilege to find something, anything, that provide a little traction to oppose the nominee.
While it is undoubtedly true that some Democrats would have opposed Roberts anyway, releasing some documents only gives the liberals ammunition. Already we're seeing the first rhetorical, predictable attacks on this conservative nominee. And it's not for a second legitimate opposition; in fact the biggest complaint is that the White house isn’t doing enough. This only proves that a strategy of accommodation isn’t going to work long term. Conservatives would do well to remember that the Dems do not need an excuse to oppose a nominee, they need an issue -abortion, school prayer, anything- that gives them cover.
I’m not saying that the White House should refuse legitimate inquiries, or refuse to turn over valid documentation. But there has been too little reward for their cooperation so far. The Democrats called for meetings to advise the president, he met with most of the senators, the Democrats called for documentation, and the White House released documents, Now the Democrats are saying that they are not the right documents, and that the White House is playing a shell game. So much for cooperation.
If the Democrats succeed with this grandstanding, and gain a little traction, it may encourage more moderate Democrats to join in and oppose Roberts as well. And that would be a bad thing.