The New York Times reports that it has obtained 10 memorandums prepared by conservative groups on President Obama's possible choices to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter that outline how conservatives hope to frame the coming nomination debate. The memos focus on 10 female potential nominees. Although the groups have gathered information on about three dozen people, both liberals and conservatives expect that Obama will nominate a woman for the position.

The memos analyze the possible nominees' records and dissect statements they have made that conservative groups find objectionable. The memorandum on Judge Diane Wood criticizes her as an "outspoken" supporter of "abortion, including partial-birth abortion." In addition, the memo on Judge Sonia Sotomayor says she is willing to expand rights in the Constitution past where the text allows, while the summary on Judge Kathleen Sullivan says she supports same-sex marriage.

According to the Times, conservatives have acknowledged that Democrats' control of the Senate gives them little chance of defeating the nomination, but they still aim to mount a formidable debate. Conservative groups hope that rallying their supporters behind a common cause "could help refill depleted coffers and galvanize a movement demoralized by Republican electoral defeats," the Times reports. Gary Marx, executive director of the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, said that donors have committed to contributing millions of dollars for advertisements on television, radio and the Internet. Richard Viguerie, a conservative fundraiser, said, "It's an immense opportunity to build the conservative movement and identify the troops out there."

Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice, said, "I think the mood and the politics of the country have passed [conservatives] by." According to the Times, liberal groups also have created a shared research pool for the coming debate (Savage, New York Times, 5/17).

Washington Post Examines Issues in Nomination Debate

The Washington Post on Sunday examined how the issue of same-sex marriage is in some ways overshadowing abortion rights as a priority for conservatives in preparing to challenge Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court position (Murray, Washington Post, 5/17). In addition, the Post on Sunday profiled Wood as one of the likely candidates for the nomination (Slevin, Washington Post, 5/17).

Steele, Kaine Spar on 'Meet the Press'

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chair, discussed the Supreme Court vacancy and abortion-rights issues, among other topics, in an appearance on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. In reference to Obama's comments that he intends to nominate a judge who displays "empathy," Steele said, "I need a judge who is going to take the constitution, apply the facts, apply the law and come to a reasoned, sound judgment." Kaine replied, "Empathy is the ability to understand how an opinion written in a closed chamber actually gets played out in real people's lives. That's what this president wants, and I'm surprised that the other guys would have a problem with that" (Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/18).

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