Because the best things in life are free.

 
Priscilla, Queen of the Fundraising Desert


For all the ink the “nuclear option” received, one might think that the real purpose of the opposition was to stop the most extreme nominees for the federal bench. But, as the deal struck on Tuesday hints, that is a false assumption. Extreme nominees are good for the opposition; it’s the less visceral candidates that pose problems. It has been easy to vilify Charles Pickering, William Pryor, Janice Rogers-Brown, and of course Priscilla Owen. Doing the same to the other choices that President Bush sought to ram through a second time is much harder. But notice who the Democrats guaranteed to vote on: Brown, Myers, and Owen.

And regarding the Texas Supreme Court justice, she promises to be a minimal danger to the Fifth Circuit, where she would be put if approved. The New Orleans-based circuit encompasses Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Several of its judges have been criticized by the US Supreme Court over death penalty cases, as well as being regarded overall as among the most conservative of the federal circuit courts. And then there’s the case which then fellow Texas Supreme Court justice Alberto Gonzales criticized Owen: a case about parental notification. The US Supreme Court decided to review parental notification this year, potentially to prevent Owen from ruling that is not constitutionally protected while on the 5th circuit.

She also could not receive campaign contributions. As members of the Texas Supreme Court are elected, justices are allowed to receive donations to their campaigns. Two such in state corporations who lavished their money on Owen: Halliburton and Enron. Both of whom received usually favorable results from her in return. Given the upcoming trial of former Enron CEO Ken Lay in 2006, having Priscilla Owen in New Orleans brings her back to the spotlight. Any attempt to intervene in the case would meet with immediate suspicion, whereas not so much if she stays in Austin. Her ties to Halliburton are less relevant, but still raise the hackles of those concerned about its role in the Iraq war.

The most unusual political figure connected to Owen, however, is Karl Rove. He apparently “discovered” her at a Houston law firm in the early 1990s. It was under his guidance that she ran a successful campaign for the Texas Supreme Court and won. Both she and Rove are single and childless. Owen had been married previously. The image of her as a “spinster” while perhaps unjustly negative is immediately apparent. But given the amount of rumor about Rove being gay, her lifestyle receives even more scrutiny. Not because any liberals would look down upon her or Rove being homosexuals or spinsters, but that their ideologies appear downright condescending to people just like them. This specter of hypocrisy reinforces the view that conservatives are elitist and out of touch toward the impact of their policies.

So do not be fooled by the words of Howard Dean, Ralph Neas, and Kim Gandy. Liberals love Priscilla Owen, who promises to help tap a previously dry bed of fundraising. Nothing gets people to donate money like someone they hate. And Owen, as you can see, has the makings of a perfect villain.
posted by Thomas at 6:12 PM 0 comments