O’Connor’s 1-issue foes are set up for a big loss

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and with his unexpectedly early opportunity to make his mark on the composition of the Supreme Court, it is turning out to be sooner. President Reagan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to replace retired Justice Potter Stewart has , as you must certainly be aware unless you have sworn off the front pages entirely for the summer, brought out an important segment of his constituency “in strident opposition. . O’Connor would appear to have everything to qualify as a quality appointee – political and judicial experience, an impressive academic record and a reputation in public office as a principled conservative who has won the respect of both ideological allies and opponents. But the newly powerful new right says it won’t have her, thereby appearing to confirm the predictions of those who have been saying – hopefully or otherwise – that President Reagan would never be able to satisfy the demands of the assortment of special-interest groups that candidate Reagan had attracted to his cause. In the case of the O’Connor nomination the interest is CJ)position to abortion. But in judging that nomination unacceptable on the basis of votes cast while she was a member of the Arizona legislature, her conservative critics are reacting both hastily and in disregard of some basic Supreme Court history. The abortion issue was not all that clearly defined in the legislation under scrutiny. And as you may by now be weary of being informed, attempting to