Word: litmus
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...most comforting thought--holding Supreme Court nominees up to an ideological litmus test. Judges, after all, are supposed to be "objective" or "impartial" jurists. They're supposed to understand some neutral legal framework embodied in the Constitution and decide the merits of specific cases without regard to political ends...
Clearly, the current calm is illusory. Souter's confirmation is no done deal. In one way or another, abortion will be the litmus test that determines Souter's fate. In the end, he could be rejected simply because he believes ; that legislators should make the law, that the right to abortion is a matter best left for the states to decide...
...September, he will reply to their questions with "constitutionally appropriate candor." When he introduced the judge last ) week, Bush insisted that even he did not know the nominee's views on abortion -- a claim that would allow the President to accuse opponents of subjecting Souter to an unfair "litmus test" if they try to pin him down...
...honesty, the Senate has no business blocking a Supreme Court nomination over one or two issues. Using such a litmus-test would not only be narrow-minded, but would also set a dangerous precedent. Future nominations could become deadlocked, and the court--which ostensibly exists to protect the minority--would slowly become a puppet of the majority-controlled legislature...
When introducing Souter to the press late yesterday, Bush repeated ad nauseam that he would refuse to let his nominee be judged by an abortion litmus test. The Senate faces that flooded the airwaves later in the evening mimicked Bush's call for a non-issue-oriented confirmation process...