NOT LEFT ENOUGH – AT 6:23 P.M. ET:  The left, apparently dissatisfied with the extreme right-wing tendencies of the Obama administration, is gearing up for a fight over the next Supreme Court seat.  Well, let's see – Lenin isn't available, Judge Judy is working...  Well, there's Garland, but I don't mean the other Judy:

Unlike several other possible candidates to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick B. Garland probably won't face conservative opposition. Instead, it could be liberals lining up against him.

A small but vocal group of activists is privately saying that Garland is not liberal enough to replace the legendary Stevens, whose opinions defended gay rights and abortion rights and opposed the death penalty. They say Garland is a centrist who won't champion liberal concerns, too often finds middle ground with his conservative colleagues on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and showed great deference to President George W. Bush's indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

COMMENT: It's either about abortion or the prison in Cuba.  Is there anything else this crowd is concerned about?  Garland is considered in those circles who live outside the padded cells as a liberal guy.  But these people want 100%, and people who want that generally lose.  At least we hope so.

April 23, 2010