Supreme Conflict
I got done reading Jan Crawford Greenburg's excellent book "Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle For Control of the United States Supreme Court" last week. I strongly suggest that you pick it up if you're at all interested in the Supreme Court. Greenburg has more than capably outlined the past 30-some years of Supreme Court history, starting with Reagan's nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Court.
Greenburg describes the mistakes made by Republican presidents over the decades as they've tried -- and too often failed -- to appoint judges to the court whose judicial philosophy is restrained and representative of the Americans who keep electing Republicans president. It's a problem that Democrats have not had.
Greenburg uses the papers of former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan to good effect as she describes how an acerbic Justice Antonin Scalia had the practical effect of pushing O'Conner into the position of a swing justice.
Also contrary to popular opinion, it Justice Clarence Thomas was never following in Scalia's footsteps. Greenburg reveals that when the media was portraying Thomas as Scalia's "yes-man" it was almost always the other way around with Scalia changing his position on issues after reading Thomas' draft briefs.
For those who are disappointed at the treatment of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, Greenburg makes a convincing case that Reagan's mistake was his failure to nominate Bork for associate justice alongside William Rehnquist's elevation to chief justice. Greenburg argues that the Democrats would've wasted all their ammunition on Rehnquist and had nothing left for Bork. Instead Reagan nominated Scalia -- who sailed through on a 98-0 vote. Democrats would've had a much tougher time "Borking" Scalia -- who was the first Italian-American nominated to the Court.
This book isn't a polemic. It's a journalistic look at the last 30-plus years of Supreme Court history. It's a fair, balanced and insightful look into the Court and the GOP strategy on Supreme Court nominations for decades to come.
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I recently read you review of SUPREME CONFLICT by Jan Crawford Greenburg and would love to hear your thoughts on a forthcoming book by New Yorker Writer Jeffery Toobin called THE NINE: INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF THE SUPREME COURT.
Based on exclusive interviews with the Supreme Court Justices and other court insiders, THE NINE is a timely and provocative "state of the union" about America's most elite legal institution. It brings clarity to a branch of government that has been shrouded in mystery, yet establishes laws that affect the lives of every citizen. Including an update throught the end of the 2006-2007court session, THE NINE is already garnering praise from such luminaries as Bob Woodward ("A major achievement, lucid and probing.") and Doris Kearns Goodwin ("This is a remarkable, riveting book. So great are Toobin's narrative skills that both the Justices and their inner world are brought vividly to life.").
If you are interesting in receiving a complimentary copy of the book when it is available in August please email me.