European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 7, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday november 7,1987 columns Tom Wicker Reagan making High court political Battlefield in the bitter Battle Over Robert boric president Reagan insisted that those who Defeated his nominee for the supreme court were driven by impermissible ideological motives. Now the president s second Choice of Douglas Ginsburg makes Clear who s forcing ideology and politics into he selection of a ninth Justice. Not just a ninth Justice either Lewis Powell who has vacated the scat now being contested often was a swing Vole on a divided court determining its majority on specific is sues. His replacement could give the court instead a solid five vote majority on almost every Issue. In those circumstances a Wise presi Dent might have decided to nominate another moderate conservative like Powell. Or in order to create that solid majority he might have named a More rigid conservative but one whose judicial or scholarly record would have assured his confirmation by a demo cratic Senate no matter How reluctantly. Reagan did neither. He nominated the controversial Bork some of whose recorded views assured instead a powerful opposition ultimately his defeat in both the judiciary com Mittee and the full Senate. Now the Choice of Ginsburg threat ens to ignite another such fight just As Reagan had promised to do. In the first place he had available a number of conservatives whose Nomi nation would have been difficult if not impossible for the Senate to  Anthony Kennedy one of them actually had come to Washington from California on White House assurances George will thai he was about to be nominated. At the last minute Reagan turned instead to Douglas Ginsburg. In the second place he did so at the powerful insistence of attorney Gener Al Edwin a Csc of William Bradford Reynolds Mccase s tar right hand Man and of hard line conservatives. One of these the extremist  Helms called the White House at the decisive moment 10 threaten a filibuster if Kennedy were nominated. How s that for left Wing ideologists trying to dictate the makeup of the court in the third place not Only did Rea Gan choose the candidate insisted upon by the president s most ideological supporters he also chose a Road whose Lack of visible distinction in itself virtually assures Strong opposition in the Senate probably even from some re publicans. No one can claim for gins Burg is they could for Robert Bork Ranthony Kennedy or numerous other conservatives that he is a Man of proven intellect and Legal experience. Thus instead of seeking to heal wounds or to gel a reasonably Quick confirmation of a new Justice Reagan has assured a new Senate Bailie and vacant Seal on the court probably into next year an election year at  also risked a second defeat for him self. Why for one thing Ginsburg is no a second Bork in that he has virtually no intellectual record and thus May provide a smaller target for opposition so he might win confirmation though the conflict of interest that has surfaced against him is not a Good Omen. If he is confirmed his relative youth just who Vou th006ht it was Safe to should give him Long tenure a Rea Gan legacy into the 21st Century. For another thing if Ginsburg should be rejected Reagan and his right Wing will be Able to charge senators who oppose him with the same sins of ideology and partisanship they already unfairly alleged against Bork s opponents so Ever a second defeat for Reagan and for Mother court nominee might be turned to right Wing political advantage finally by choosing their candidate no doubt the one he preferred any Way Reagan mended his own Politi Cal fences with hard line conserva Tives Many of whom criticized what they saw As the White House s botch of the Bork confirmation Battle and All of whom Are aghast at the arms control treaty the president and Mikhail Gorbachev Are about to conclude. The selection of Kennedy or anyone comparable would have offended such conservatives once again wisc shells filibuster threat. He undoubtedly would have carried out that threat but would have had Little support in the Senate the prob Lem he posed was minor compared with what might develop As he Judic iary committee explores the Ginsburg nomination. Whatever the outcome of that exploration it s going to be hard for the Man who picked Ginsburg out of obscurity Over much better Quali fied candidates and at the insistence of the far right to claim that anybody else injected politics and ideology into the debate