Yeah, Right, Whatever

Imagine my surprise when I read that Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) has put forward three pro-life, Republican names as suggestions for Supreme Court nominees.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that he is recommending at least three Republican senators, all lawyers with anti-abortion records, as nominees in the event of a Supreme Court vacancy.

Reid's remarks to reporters at the Capitol seemed to catch a wide range of interests off guard, from liberal and conservative social activists preparing to campaign for or against potential nominees, to the senators themselves: Mel Martinez of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

Now... why in the world would Reid (who, is, by the way, not personally pro-choice) put forth names in such a... well, cooperative manner? My first thought is that, if you get rid of these guys, then they might be replaced by nice "moderate" Republicans or something like that. Or... maybe it's to reward someone for past kindnesses???

Martinez and DeWine represent swing states. DeWine took heat from conservatives last month for joining a bipartisan group of 14 senators that preserved Democrats' right to filibuster judicial nominees in "extraordinary" cases in exchange for confirming several contested appellate bench nominees. It was not immediately clear how the senators might handle abortion in a judicial, rather than a political, context.

So... by playing nice and mentioning those two, Reid looks like the good guy in swing states, and DeWine gets a warm fuzzy feeling for being one of the Gang of Seven. Lovely.

DeWine's office said, "thanks, but no thanks." Crapo was honored that Reid thought so highly of him. Martinez' office didn't issue a statement.

When it all comes down to it, Reid is a politician. He doesn't do anything just because. There's a reason for what he suggested. We just need to figure out what he's up to. I'm sure someone from the GOP is all over it. At least, I hope they are.