Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ripped into conservatives making "baseless attacks" on those under consideration by President Donald Trump for a spot on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gonzales, who served during the George W. Bush administration, made his comments in a column for The Washington Post.
"As a lifelong Republican, I am angry about the unfair public treatment of some of the potential nominees and am ashamed of some of the anonymous sniping coming from my fellow conservatives," he said.
"I learned as a young lawyer that being a judicial conservative means you do not ignore, redefine or add to the text of the Constitution or the words of a congressional statute to achieve a policy outcome.
"I learned that a judicial conservative exercises humility, understanding that judges have an important but limited role in the nation's constitutional scheme.
"Judicial conservatives do not weigh into issues that are rightfully the responsibility of the government's elected branches. I learned that a judicial conservative puts aside personal biases and acts with integrity and the courage to do the right thing even if unpopular."
He noted that every potential nominee should be vetted, but maintained "baseless attacks" just "complicate the nomination process." And he specifically cited those conservatives who have argued against Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court post.
"For example, it was reported that D.C. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh dissented in a case in which the circuit panel ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act," he said.
"Kavanaugh dissented on the basis that the court lacked jurisdiction. Unnamed conservatives argue that he should have written to invalidate the statute. I learned long ago that a true judicial conservative exercises restraint and does not decide or speak to the merits of a dispute where there is no jurisdiction."
He also cited remarks from those opposed to a D.C. Circuit ruling allowing an undocumented pregnant teen to get an abortion.
"Again, Kavanaugh dissented, and once again nameless conservatives argued that the dissent should have gone further, no doubt frustrated that Kavanaugh did not take on abortion rights even though he is bound as a circuit judge to follow Supreme Court precedent.
"The most outrageous excuse given to oppose Kavanaugh is his service in the George W. Bush administration. He has been accused of being a "mainstream" or "establishment" Republican, as if this makes him an unreliable conservative."
Gonzales wrote that he understood social conservatives' frustration with the court.
But he cautioned: "The court should never be perceived or used as a means to promote and protect a conservative policy agenda. If that happens, then conservatives lose credibility and the country is poorer for it."
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