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Now that the John Roberts nomination is a virtual lock, Senate Democrats can get down to the real business at hand. That "real" business I speak of would be the destruction of nearly anyone President Bush nominates to fill the vacancy left upon the Supreme Court by departing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

But is it Senate Democrats that conservatives around the country should be overtly worried about?

After reading Robert Novak's piece on September 12, titled: "Replacing O'Connor Could Get Ugly," I felt justified in updating Mr. Novak's choice of the word "could" to instead read "will," as senators -- including some very key Republicans -- are indicating a rough time ahead for Bush's next nominee.

Unless Bush happens to nominate someone who is thoroughly palatable to Senate Democrat heavyweights like Charles Schumer and Ted Kennedy, the word of the day in Washington seems to be "warning."

It should then come as no surprise that when the Senate takes to the floor this week in regard to John Roberts' pending vote, what will, in fact, be the topic of discussion is the president's next nominee to the Supreme Court.

Among Senate Democrats who have issued expected warnings, like Kennedy, Schumer, and Senate minority leader Harry Reid, it is Senate Republicans who have advanced the most unsubtle and incautious warnings of their own.

Mostly, these warnings, or "statements of intent" as I choose to view them, are from the usual group of Senate Republican "moderates," or as the old media prefers to caption them, "mavericks."

Of chief importance among these "enlightened and principled" moderates in the Senate is Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, who again tried to corner Bush into letting retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor remain on the bench until next June.

Says Specter: "I have raised a certain cautionary signal, that I believe the next nomination is going to be a great deal more contentious than the Roberts nomination."

Still exhibiting the courage that is a hallmark of the moderate wing among the Senate, Senator Specter was referred to in the Washington Post as warning Bush that he could expect opposition if he nominated any of the 10 federal appeals court candidates blocked by Democrats during his first term. (web site)

Among those 10 appeals court nominees are a few possible SCOTUS candidates, including the most prominent name to date, 5th Circuit Federal Appellate Judge Priscilla Owen.

Other Senate Republicans who voiced reservations -- or posited stipulations -- regarding Bush's next court nominee include Lincoln Chafee, who says that he may oppose a jurist similar to Roberts because of his concern for the balance of the Supreme Court.

Senator Olympia Snowe has also let her concern for the court's balance of power be known: "This is certainly a different level of evaluation, especially because of the balance of power on the court."

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