Obama Could Find Opposition to His Supreme Court Nominee From the Left

In an earlier piece today I mentioned how the Democrats plan to run against the Supreme Court to provoke some sort of populist reaction that might help them in November.  Personally, I think it's a losing strategy, one of many losing strategies the desperate Dems will attempt as they scramble to retain power.

As I mentioned in that piece Obama may have more opposition from the left than from the right, depending on who he chooses.  Outgoing Justice John Paul Stevens is one of the most liberal members of the court and the far left doesn't want anyone nominated who might be to the political right of Stevens:

Unlike several other possible candidates to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick B. Garland probably won't face conservative opposition. Instead, it could be liberals lining up against him.

A small but vocal group of activists is privately saying that Garland is not liberal enough to replace the legendary Stevens, whose opinions defended gay rights and abortion rights and opposed the death penalty. They say Garland is a centrist who won't champion liberal concerns, too often finds middle ground with his conservative colleagues on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and showed great deference to President George W. Bush's indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Herman Schwartz, an American University law professor and the author of several books on the Supreme Court and conservative judicial activism, said he found Garland's early acceptance of Bush's Guantanamo Bay policy "very troubling."

"It meant that nothing that happened to those prisoners -- whether it was abusing them or holding them indefinitely -- would ever be subject to the rule of law," Schwartz said. "For the executive branch to have that kind of power over a person is unconscionable. And for a judge to accept the total irrelevance of the rule of law is a betrayal of that judge's obligation to uphold the Constitution and this nation's ideals."

Gee, I like him already.

As much as Obama loves to fight with the GOP, he really doesn't need to stir up a huge partisan fight this summer with the midterm elections coming up. He'd be smart to choose someone like Garland who will have limited opposition from the GOP and could be fairly easily confirmed.  Choosing a die-hard lefty with a pattern of outrageous liberal decisions will simply give the GOP more ammunition to use against Democrats in November.