How do you think that Scalia will respond to B*'s not making him Chief...

[I Have A Dream]

Justice of the Supreme Court? Do you think that he'll change his votes in any way? Do you think that he'll try to get even with B* in some way? Do you think that he'll cause problems for Roberts? Scalia doesn't seem like the type of person who will handle what he considers to be a "slap in the face" with grace or dignity.

I've been wondering about this, and I haven't seen any posts which discussed this. (I might have missed them though.)

[fooj]

1. Oh, I think Shrub may learn rather quickly...

that paybacks are a BITCH! Scalia didn't show up for the swearing in of Roberts...and since it's common knowledge that these RWers eat their own-----

Peace.

[I Have A Dream]

4. We can only hope! n/t

[rpannier]

2. I don't think he'll change

Look. Most people, including some conservative legal scholars, have said that Scalia is the MOST devisive and LEAST liked member of the US Supreme Court. He lack judicial temprement. He criticizes his colleagues directly in his opinions, when they disagree with him. Even the late William Rehnquist was unwilling to allow Scalia to write the majority opinion in many controversial cases because he of Scalia's ascerbic personality.
I don't think he ever felt he would get picked for that position.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. and those are the nice things they say

I think another favorite compliment heard there is "arrogant prick".

I know he has a major ego thing going on, but did he strive for the Chief's seat? I did not read or see anything confirming that except from people surmising well outside the bloatway.

[I Have A Dream]

8. I don't know... I think that when B* said that he was looking for...

judges in the mold of Scalia or Thomas, Scalia might have taken that as an indication that he would be B* pick for Chief Justice if given the oppportunity to appoint the Chief Justice.

I agree with you about the ascerbic personality, but I don't think that he would expect B* to hold that against him since so many Republicans (not all) are like that.

[Divernan]

11. Blind ego - he DID feel he deserved it, or he woud have showed up

at Roberts' swearing in. I had not heard of his absence until now. It's a slap in the face to the Court itself, and not just to Roberts. And I think it reflects Scalia's sense of entitlement - I bet he was just lusting to become the first Italian-American and first Catholic Supreme Court Justice. And oh, how this would have expanded his precious Opus Dei's influence! It would have been like he was the Pope of the USA.

I hadn't thought about what he might to in the way of revenge, but he certainly has an arrogant and vengeful personality.

[rpannier]

35. You may be right

One correction though. Justice Roger B. Taney was the first Catholic Chief Justice.

[spooky3]

38. OTOH, he may be pleased to have another ally to put "his" views into

the majority--pleased enough to overlook the dissatisfaction with not being named CJ

[Lasher]

3. Good Food for Thought

Guess 'Quack Quack' Scalia won't be going duck hunting with Cheney any more. Ya think?

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[I Have A Dream]

39. At the very least, I don't think that B* can count on Scalia covering...

for him if he's ever brought up for something before the Supreme Court, as many here are hoping he will be. (This is the reason that many people think he's trying to install Miers on the Supreme Court.)

[Olney Blue]

7. Scalia was said to have been more "social" in an effort

to cast himself in a more favorable light for selection as CJ. Hard to tell if it was an active campaign, or just DC rumor-mongering. Regardless, glad he was dissed by the ditz.

[I Have A Dream]

10. I'm also glad that he was dissed. His arrogance disgusts me. n/t

[bluedawg12]

9. He'll shave his back in protest n/t

[mitchum]

49. ROFLMAO!!!

beautiful :)

[expatriot]

12. Hell hath no fury like a fascist's hurt pride. nt

[Lochloosa]

31. Love the Sticker....

[Neil Lisst]

13. Good topic

I think you have picked up on something subtle but important. Scalia must be livid first at not getting CJ, and then at getting Harriet Miers.

I think Scalia will go for superstar of the right status. He's already got Clarence Thomas riding his jock. He'll try to overwhelm and recruit Harriet, so he can bag her vote.

Roberts will likely defer a great deal to Scalia.

-----
my progressive political cartoon
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

[I Have A Dream]

15. I hope that Roberts is able to stay free of Scalia's influence.

Maybe the animosity that Scalia is bound to show to Roberts at the beginning of their tenure together will make this not happen.

[shenmue]

14. I think he'll be...

kinda ticked! ;) All those years of advancing right-wing causes no matter what the case actually called for...all those years of dragging the court into one political ideology, as loyal drones of the president who appointed them...it's got to burn when that doesn't pay off. I'm sure he and Thomas can't be too happy about this. Both of them have been on the court for years, and then they get passed over for a complete novice and someone who's been a federal judge for two years. That has to rub them the wrong way.

I'm not sure they'll ever really want to vote on the liberal side, but look for them to make some pretty strange dissents or secondary opinions. Maybe they'll even sit out some votes. To lose a chance to become Chief Justice? Crimony, that's got to stink.

[I Have A Dream]

16. Do you think that Thomas ever seriously thought that he had a chance?

I've wondered about this. He seems to be totally under the thumb of Scalia that I've always doubted that he'd ever be considered. However, B* has done things as strange as this before.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Ahhh, wonderful things are happning

This is awesome. They will never, ever get along. Scalia either: 1) Will remain under the tutelage and control of this brand new, younger usurper that Bush prefers, or, 2) He won't be able to put up with it and he'll do the most wonderful thing: leave.

:thumbsup:

[I Have A Dream]

21. Hopefully, if he does decide to leave, he'll leave after B* is out of...

office. (I doubt that he'd want to give B* the chance to have a say in his replacement.) However, I think that he'd also have a difficult time letting a Democrat have say over his replacement.

I'm enjoying the quandary that Scalia's in right now. :D (I'm not normally a vindictive person, but Scalia's caused so much pain for so many Americans that I'll make an exception here.)

[Sarah Ibarruri]

28. It's good that scalia should suffer

I agree. Scalia is a very evil man. It's okay if he suffers a little. He's made many suffer a lot.

[seaglass]

18. I bet he wasn't surprised. There have been only 4 CJs in our

history who have been promoted from Associate Justice.

I bet Scalia is very familiar with that history, but was hoping he could be the 5th.

[I Have A Dream]

24. I think that his big ego would have made him think that he DESERVED...

to be the 5th.

[seaglass]

40. I'm sure you're right, it's just that it's not as much a slap in the

face as I thought it was a few weeks ago before I knew the history.

[tritsofme]

19. I actually wouldn't be too surprised to see him retire under Bush.

He's 69, and despite any animosity, I doubt he would want a Democrat picking his replacement.

[I Have A Dream]

23. I said something similar above (at around the same time as when you..

posted this), so we're thinking alike. However, I also think that he'd have a difficult time letting B* having a say in his replacement. (Again, I'm thinking that he's really, really p*ssed at B*, which may not be the case.)

[Jim Lane]

20. No, being Chief isn't that big a deal

The Chief Justice has one vote among nine. It's not as if he gets to set the agenda, the way a legislative leader can, or even break ties. The only really important power is that, when the Chief Justice is in the majority, he decides who'll write the opinion of the Court. That can be significant, but the other Justices in the majority have input into the content of the opinion. They can also write their own concurring opinions whenever they choose. Beyond that, the Chief Justice makes appointments to a few committees, and has control over some administrative matters, such as whether to wear a robe with gold stripes on the sleeve. (Kudos to Roberts for ditching the stripes.)

I'd guess that Scalia would like to be Chief but isn't too concerned about it.

One thing that occurred to me about the Miers appointment is that, if she's below the Court's average in intellectual candlepower (which is the impression the media are giving), she might be more likely to be influence by the Justices she sees as her allies. It's not inconceivable that her appointment will in some ways mean giving Scalia a second vote. That would be worth more to him than the Chief's title. On the other hand, she may join the well-established tradition of Justices who surprise the President who appointed them.

[I Have A Dream]

22. I would be inclined to agree with you if it weren't for the fact that...

Scalia seems to have a really big ego. Additionally, the fact that he didn't show up for Roberts' swearing in ceremony said quite a bit, in my opinion. (Saying that he had a previous engagement just rang untrue to me. As important as this is, most "previous engagements" could have been rearranged, I'd think.)

Thanks for your take on this situation, JL. It should be interesting to see how things play out.

[Olney Blue]

27. That's an interesting point about Mier's candlepower....

I would guess that her inexperience might cause the more arrogant Justices like Scalia to chew her up and spit her out. It will be very interesting to get a sense of her intellectual prowess in the hearing.

Jim, btw, nice to meet you in DU!
:hi:

[NNadir]

25. I don't think Scalias allegedly hurt pride will make any difference at all

It's not like he's going to start ruling in a liberal way.

The man is an extreme right wing nutcase. The best thing he could do for his country is die during a democratic administration.

[I Have A Dream]

26. I hear what you're saying. n/t

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

29. He throws down his spoon over his morning bowlful of sour gruel,

rips off his cilices, buys a slew of Hawaiian shirts and runs off with a barmaid named Bambi.

http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney01172004.html

[Kber]

30. I think he's going to take whatever marbles he has left and go home. nt

[I Have A Dream]

32. But do you really think that he'd put B* in the position to have control..

over who replaces him?

[Mabus]

33. I'm wondering what the rest of them think about Miers

I mean, they know they hurt the integrity of the court themselves with their partisan decision in 2000 but this is really diminishing what's left of their reputation (around the world and in the US) by being seen as puppets for their RW masters' agendas.

I wonder how many, if any, are regretting their vote in 2000's Bush v. Gore decision.

[I Have A Dream]

34. Good question, Mabus. I wish that there was some way that we could...

know. Maybe Scalia might be regretting his vote, even though it would have put a Democrat in power.

[Tactical Progressive]

36. I think there will be a contentious rivalry with Roberts

when they disagree, which I'm hoping is frequently.

If Roberts turns out to be an evenhanded, honest intellectual, his being chief justice and having any measure of stature above Scalia will rankle that twisted sleazeball unrelentingly.

I'd expect to see Scalia taken out on a gurney every couple of months.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

37. I think he will take Roberts duck hunting

and only one of them will come back. Quack, Quack. :)

[Pepperbelly]

41. I hope it causes him the greatest angst and psychological trauma. nt

[rhett o rick]

42. Well if he changes his rulings to get even, Karl will have to explain it t

to Georgie. In other words it would be a wasted effort.

[I Have A Dream]

43. I found this article on cnn.com.

Scalia: Didn't expect to be chief justice

NEW YORK (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday that he had not expected President Bush to nominate him to replace the late William Rehnquist as chief justice.

"I'm not even sure I wanted it, to tell you the truth," Scalia told reporters at a media briefing before a gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.

Bush, who had in the past mentioned Scalia as one role model for an ideal chief justice, passed on Scalia and nominated John Roberts after Rehnquist's death.

Scalia said the time he would have had to devote to administering the court as chief justice would have taken away from his thinking and writing. However, he said, "The honor would have been wonderful."

(continued at link below)

http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2005/LAW/10/08/scalia.ap/

[Vickers]

47. "(being) chief justice would have taken away from his thinking"

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I mean REALLY, does he expect me to believe that he THINKS about his decisions? He simply parrots the Neocon line...how fucking hard is THAT?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Borgnine]

44. He'll get Thomas to leave a little present on Bush's next bottle of booze.

Bush should look before he drinks, lest he want a curly cocktail.

[BlueIris]

45. Please don't laugh. I had a dream that Scalia "sought revenge."

By giving votes other than expected in upcoming cases before the SCOTUS.

Of course, I just saw a link on CNN.com's homepage saying that Scalia has now said puplicly that he "did not expect to be be Chief." It's probably still there if anyone wants to look at it.

[I Have A Dream]

46. I posted the link to the CNN piece a couple of posts up.

Scalia may really mean this, but he could also just be trying to save face. I hope that your dream comes true. (Do your dreams tend to come true? Mine don't but some people's do.)

[mitchum]

48. He'll make Good Ol' Clarence tell a few jokes to cheer him up