Farewell To The Chief

With a strong endorsement coming from the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of John Roberts's confirmation as the new Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, the interregnum in the judicial branch's leadership will soon come to a close.

And while this tribute to the late lamented Chief Justice William Rehnquist is tardy, due in large part to the national catastrophe that hit at the same time as his passing, I did want to say something about a man who embodied sanity in a branch of the national government that has been overrun with lunacy since before Ike erroneously appointed the "Dumb Swede" from California to the high bench.

The "Smart Swede" from Wisconsin was a strict constructionist and a jurist who did not hold tradition in contempt. His appointment was a rare conservative footnote during the ideologically vacuous Nixon Administration.

Rhenquist's interpretations of the US Constitution defended the rights of the unborn in Roe v. Wade and not long ago defended property rights from government-developer combines in the now infamous Kelo v. New London case, a precedent sanctioning land snatching for primary private gain with residual public benefit.

Though Rehnquist would know many lonely moments on a court packed with liberals ironically appointed by Republican presidents, he was, in this writer's opinion, the best Chief Justice since Charles Evans Hughes.

While his tendency to embrace conservative positions was appreciated by those on the right, there is an important unsung characteristic the Chief possessed that people of any party affiliation can admire.

Similar to the coverage of the previous pope, Strom Thurmond, and other aged and infirm conservative figures, there was a giddy media "death watch" on the chief justice over the past few years. Rehnquist was suffering from thyroid cancer and, in response to rumors of his pending retirement from the bench, snipped "That's for me to know and you to find out." To my knowledge, no similar dark vigils have been set up for court elder John Paul Stevens.

Rehnquist's participation in the courts proceedings exemplified his sense of duty and his drive under trying physical circumstances to "keep living until he's dead."

What precisely does that mean?

We live in a society where convenience is placed on a higher pedestal than the value of life. The "Soilent Green" mentality that has pervaded our culture has had its effect. A pregnancy is an annoyance to be terminated on a whim; old people are to be put out of our...I mean "their," misery; as are the severely debilitated, described charitably as persons in a persistent vegetative state.

Though seriously ill, Rehnquist never exhibited a lack of competence and made arrangements to be able to effectively serve on the court. Just like the late Pope John Paul II, Rehnquist proved through his service that despite severe illness an individual can continue to contribute even at the dusk of life.

The highlight of the 2005 Presidential Inauguration for me was not the better seating that came with being a member of the Electoral College, but seeing Big Bill, whose absence was almost taken as a certainty leading up to the event, swear in President Bush for a second term. When his presence was announced, I immediately shot up from my folding chair and gave the chief a rousing ovation, which was matched by others who then recognized the significance of the Rehnquist appearance.

Here was a man defying the winter elements and the limits on his own health because he felt he had a duty. While the AARP might neglect recognizing Rehnquist's example, the chief, who worked with a tracheotomy tube in his throat, should be a hero for every senior citizen wanting to continue being productive and not resign themselves to the shuffleboard or the hammock just because of age.

There was more to the professional career of William Rehnquist than the gold bars on his black robe and three decades worth of sound, cogent opinions. The chief tried to protect the sanctity of life in its earliest stages from the bench and by carrying on through advanced age and sickness was himself an argument against euthanasia.
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With Hurricane Rita's pending arrival, my prayers are with those in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. Please stay safe and be mindful of the many hazzards that come with a visit from nature's Luca Brasi.