Kerry Needs A Litmus Test For Litmus Tests

As the Washington Post reported today,

Kerry yesterday was forced to clarify his position on an abortion litmus test for Supreme Court appointees. Kerry, who has previously backed a litmus test, appeared to soften that position during an interview with Associated Press.

“I will not appoint somebody with a 5-4 court who’s about to undo Roe v. Wade. I’ve said that before,” Kerry said. “But that doesn’t mean that if that’s not the balance of the court, I wouldn’t be prepared ultimately to appoint somebody to some court who has a different point of view. I’ve already voted for people like that. I voted for Judge [Antonin] Scalia.”

In other words (any other words at all! Please!), if Kerry were elected he would employ a pro-abortion litmus test in selecting judges to the Supreme Court. At least for now. At some time in the future if enough pro-abortion judges had been nominated and approved he might consider dropping the litmus test. But he might not, because then the split in the Court might become close again.

I wonder (no, actually I don’t) how he would select lower court judges, who frequently decide all by themselves.

It would also be nice if some enterprising journalist would ask Kerry how he feels now about his vote for Scalia. The above quote suggests that he doesn’t regret that vote, but is his implied lack of regret believable?

UPDATE

In a comment below, reader Nels Nelson points to Kerry’s interview with the Associated Press, from which the remarks quoted in my post appear. As is not infrequently the case with Kerry’s statements on controversial policies, the more he says the less clear his position becomes. In this case, for example, Kerry clearly pointed to his vote for Scalia as an example of his willingness to vote for judges with whom he disagrees, even on abortion. But when asked whether he regrets his vote for Scalia, he replied (among other things):

“If you’re looking for me to admit that I made a mistake in my years in the Senate, there you go

Say What? (2)

  1. Nels Nelson May 21, 2004 at 5:49 am | | Reply

    Here’s Kerry on his vote for Scalia:

    “If you’re looking for me to admit that I made a mistake in my years in the Senate, there you go

  2. Laura May 21, 2004 at 6:54 pm | | Reply

    Kerry: “…judges who are pro-life or pro-something else that I may not agree with…”

    Wow. Most pro-choicers aren’t that honest.

Say What?