Weir Thinking About It

No sooner did Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor declare her retirement, than the leaders of the 2 largest feminist organizations in the country made a beeline for the media. Eleanor Smeal, President of theа Feminist Majority, bellowed that O'Connor's resignation could 'reverse 32 years of freedom and progress for women. Let there be no mistake about it,' she roared, 'the feminist movement today is declaring a state of emergency to save the court for women's rights.'

Of course, Ms. Smeal didn't make any mention about the rights of children to be born. The former National Organization for Women president went on to say that O'Connor owed her appointment to NOW because they, 'stood outside the White House with thousands of people demanding that President Reagan nominate a woman, and a woman who would not turn her back on the women of the nation.' Revisionist history if you ever heard it. The fact is, Justice O'Connor was not wanted by liberal groups because of her conservative views —аviews she moderated over the course of her tenure.

The next hystericalаoutburst came from the current President of NOW, Kim Gandy. With righteous indignation in her voice she declared that O'Connor would not be replaced by an "extremist'' who would erode women's rights. "This is a state of emergency for all the women in the United States and all of the women in the world," she said during a press conference at NOW's annual meeting in Nashville.

Given the inflammatory rhetoric and call to arms, one would think we had been invaded by Martians. These one issue ideologues are precisely what's wrong in this country today. Smeal and Gandy are less interested in the crucial issues facing all Americans in the years ahead, and more interested in securing their own power base in the political arena. To these fanatics, nothing takes precedence over the issue of abortion; not terrorism directed toward their fellow Americans; not the proliferation of drugs and violent crime across the country; not the epidemic of AIDS, and not the declining standards of education that doom a significant proportion of America's youth.

No, in order for these self—serving demagogues to maintain their lofty perches, they must continuously stoke the fires of gender conflict, lashing out furiously at anyone who disagrees with the destruction of innocent life in the womb. Using the euphemism, pro—choice, instead of the obvious but politically odious pro—death, they pretend to supply their fatuous adherents with an option regarding childbirth.

Nothing could be further from the truth because the philosophy has little to do with choice and everything to do with the insidious coercion of women at the nadir of their emotional equilibrium. Hence, these dogmatic purveyors of doom must have a Supreme Court Justice who will continue to vote in favor of their malevolent doctrine. Ironically, Justice O'Connor proved that no president or partisan group can predict with any degree of certainty how a judge on the high court will vote on any given issue; lifetime tenure assures their independence.

A Hispanic nominee to the court is an odds—on favorite in the minds of most political pundits. Since Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in the country, it would be tough for Democrats to mount a formidable campaign against such a selection. How many senators want to be on record as opposing the confirmation of the first Hispanic ever nominated to the Supreme Court? Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, a personal friend of the president, is reagrded as a possible choice to replace O'Connor, but is just as likely to be controversial among Repuiblicans as Democrats.

Conservatives are wondering if Gonzalez, by virtue of his minority status, would transmogrify into a liberal once he dons the black robe. Although the Justices are supposed to interpret the Constitution the way it was intended by its authors, we have often witnessed the supposed philosophical elasticity of that venerable parchment. Just recently, the high court enraged the nation when it jeopardized the rights of every homeowner by inventing a new description of private property.

The stage is set for an historic battle between what's right and what's left in America. Proclamations of imminent carnage notwithstanding, the ultimate replacement for Justice O'Connor will not bring down this great republic.а
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Bob Weir is a former detective sergeant in the New York City Police Department. He is the editor of The News Connection in Highland Village, Texas. BobWeir777@aol.com