Justice Silberman a possible replacement for AG Gonzalez - Good or Bad for RKBA?

[NickEllis]

My intention with this post is NOT to discuss the politics of the matter, but the relative merits of the candidates vis a vis RKBA, and how we can influence the Bush Administration to pick a good RKBA Atty-Gen. Mods, if this needs to be somewhere more appropriate, i.e., Activism, please relocate.

One of many sources: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/30/next.ag/index.html?iref=newssearch

The White House isn't speaking publicly about who it's considering to next lead the Justice Department. But White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten's "short list" of possible nominees, according to columnist Robert Novak, includes no one like Gonzales, a close friend of Bush from his days in Texas politics.

Citing administration sources, Novak reports that the list includes former Solicitor General Ted Olson, former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger and Senior U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Laurence H. Silberman.

Silberman, who served as deputy attorney general in 1974 and 1975, also possesses the necessary stature to take on the task, said Francisco, who served as associate counsel to Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as deputy assistant attorney general from 2003 to 2005.

 

[jpk1md]

As I recall he wrote the Majority Opinion in the Parker Case recently.

It doesn't get much better than that.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

Now that could be an interesting choice. I suspect though Bush will appoint someone who will be sort of neutral/weak, not disliked by either side. How would the Democrats react to this one I wonder? A pro-gun AG would be very helpful, Gonzales was coming up with anti-gun legislation (the "no gun list" idea) and a better one might oppose that idea, but politically, who knows what might happen...

 

[gc70]

Having a gun-friendly AG for a little over a year versus the permanent loss of an appeals court justice sounds like a bad trade to me.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

I don't know, he's old, and might of been planning to retire soon anyways. If indeed he does step down from the court we'd definately need to be sure a pro-2nd Amendment justice is picked, the DC Circuit being pro is too helpful to risk getting an anti installed.

 

[yhtomit]

I was thinking (when I read Parker) that I'd prefer Silberman have a seat on the Supreme Ct. rather than the D.C. circuit.

Have any AGs been appointed to the SupCt? Would have been a lot better if he'd been AG for 8 years instead of as emergency fill-in for Bush-pal Gonzalez, but Hey.

timothy

 

[Art Eatman]

This is political, not legal...

Art