Dear President Bush:

This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great privilege, indeed, to have served as a member of the Court for 24 Terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the Court and its role under our Constitutional structure.

Sincerely,
Sandra Day O'Connor

O'Connor is a moderate, or in the parlance of Republicans an "unreliable conservative." They will not accept a similarly unreliable replacement, like Gonzales. The end result of this will almost certainly be a shift to a more Conservative court.

The political firestorm will kick off immediately, but why care? It will not impact the final outcome. It is merely a marketing campaign, wherein Bush will attempt to show the radicals that he is a serious conservative and the moderates that the liberals are unreasonable. The liberals will attempt to show the moderates that Bush is a radical. Its all posturing for the next election and only useful if you haven't been paying attention.

Bunnygrrl had some thoughtful comments on O'Connor's resignation.

As for me, well, she came down on the wrong side of the CDA court case, which puts her (along with a large majority of Congress and the Senate include John Kerry) on my long term mildly irrational grudge list. She writes:

The universe of material that is "patently offensive," but which nonetheless has some redeeming value for minors or does not appeal to their prurient interest--is a very small one. Appellees cite no examples of speech falling within this universe and do not attempt to explain why that universe is substantial "in relation to the statute's plainly legitimate sweep."

This is one of the most ignorant things that has been written in any modern Supreme Court dissent. I think she should be required to listen to a selection of the most abrasive and angry punk, industrial and hip hop at a high volume until she decides to die her hair flourescent orange or she realizes what was at stake in that case.

Sandra Day O'Connor Announces Retirement - July 1, 2005