Bush spokesman on Roberts documents: "It's more than what they need"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

WASHINGTON -- Frustrated Senate Democrats struggled to unearth Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' elusive views on abortion, civil rights and other controversial issues Tuesday, digging through newly released government documents while criticizing the White House for refusing access to thousands more. "It's more than what they need," President Bush's spokesman said of the material being turned over.

The disagreement over access to decades-old government records flared as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales suggested that, if confirmed, Roberts would not be bound by an earlier statement that the landmark 1973 ruling that established a woman's right to an abortion was settled law. Gonzales told The Associated Press in an interview that "a Supreme Court justice is not obliged to follow precedent if you believe it's wrong."

Democrats said other documents already in their possession, dating from Roberts' time in the White House counsel's office later in the Reagan administration, give them reason for concern. In one, relating to calls for expanded protection under housing discrimination law, Roberts wrote then-White House counsel Fred Fielding that he didn't believe "there is a need to concede all or many of the controversial points ... to preclude political damage."

A second showed him recommending against the broadening of anti-discrimination provisions applied to colleges whose students received federal financial assistance. "From what we know now, John Roberts had a hand in some of the most aggressive assaults on civil rights protections during the Reagan administration," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement. "The White House should make all relevant documents available so that the Senate can make an informed decision."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uscort0727,0,5578913.story?coll=ny-nation-big-pix

[still_one]

1. it is so over for this country