Word: constructionistic
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Miers was apparently chosen because of her loyalty to the administration and her nonexistent judicial paper trail, which frees her from a Scalia-esque fiery debate over judicial philosophy during the confirmation process. Perhaps Miers has a well thought out constructionist judicial philosophy; perhaps she is a staunch conservative. This, however, isn’t actually important. The issue is that she was nominated specifically to avoid an ideological argument, which is a sign of how Bush’s conservatism doesn’t have the courage of its convictions...
...Harding and Johnson administrations: from cronyism at home (from Brown at FEMA to the Miers nomination) and abroad (Iraq reconstruction contracts), to overly ambitious Great Society spending at home (Medicaid) and quagmire wars (Iraq, again). If, despite a comfortable Senate majority, Bush will not or cannot nominate a bold constructionist to the Supreme Court, it is clear that the administration and the Republican Party at large are without cohesive intellectual principles, message or vision; they are unified only by their short-term desire for tactical victories, a party of greedy tribes—not ideas...
...John Roberts sailed through his confirmation hearings, conservatives stepped up pressure on George W. Bush to choose his next Supreme Court nominee more squarely in the strict-constructionist, Antonin Scalia mold. Another Roberts, according to conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, would be "a betrayal." Why? Because Roberts left it unclear whether he would uphold Roe v. Wade, and Schlafly and others want a sure vote to reverse...
...while Roberts, who said that he does not feel uncomfortable being labeled a “strict constructionist,” expounded on his general approach to the law, his reluctance to discuss the specifics of cases and issues that are likely to come before the Court appeared to irk several of the committee’s Democratic members...
...Chief Justice William Rehnquist: Possibly the next justice to retire. Appointed by Richard Nixon in 1972, Rehnquist replaced Warren Burger as Chief Justice in 1986. Rehnquist is a strict constructionist (he interprets the Constitution in very narrow terms) who leans conservative. Very much in favor of states' rights. Often speaks in terms of leaving issues up to the "people's branch in government," i.e., the legislature. Widely considered a skilled consensus-builder...