Jon Kyl on the Supreme Court: Ideology is more important than qualifications

From the Washington Post -

There isn’t even a vacancy on the Supreme Court and yet the absurdities have already begun.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the minority whip, essentially warned President Obama that sterling qualifications won’t be enough for his next high court pick to be confirmed. “I think the president will nominate a qualified person,” Kyl said. “I hope, however, he does not nominate an overly ideological person. That will be the test.”

Another relevent line, this one from the Fox News piece linked in the WaPo quote -

Specter said he wants a nominee who is "tough" on executive power. But Kyl said that's exactly the kind of pick his party wants to avoid.

Yup, 'cause God knows that "checks and balances" were never part of the intent of the original Framers of the Constitution.

Anyway, Kyl is talking like a guy who A) knows that the Rs will eventually control the White House again, and wants to make sure they have only a lapdog SCOTUS to deal with, not a bulldog SCOTUS: and B) who is considering the possibility that he will be on the R ticket in 2012 as VP, and wants to have as much freedom from judicial scrutiny as was enjoyed by Dick Cheney.