WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid urged President Bush on Saturday to say “no to the far right” and nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court someone who will rule with “an open mind and a big heart.”

“We need an independent thinker who will follow the Constitution, not a knee-jerk conservative crusader who will march in lock-step to the tune of partisan pressure groups,” Reid of Nevada said in his party’s weekly radio address.

Lets cut to the chase. We all know the controversy surrounding the Court is rooted in the Abortion Issue. There are those on the left who love to imply that those who are Pro-Life are in reality close-minded and hardhearted. I do not understand how this issue has been turned upside down in our culture. Why is it that he who wants to protect an innocent life is considered hard hearted? Why is a person who chooses to be blind to the life lost in abortion, blind to the consequences of this “Choice” why is that person considered to be more “Open Minded”? I would think that the only way to live with oneself while supporting abortion would be to close one’s mind to the reality of what abortion really is.

After reading other various statements from Mr. Reid, I have come to conclude that his idea of an “independent thinker” is really someone who agrees with him. Anyone who sways from his beliefs is considered a partisan extremist. (Now to be fair, that thinking resides in both red and blue brains, But I digress.) . . .

The leader of the Democrat party who is appealing for a fair unpartisan nominee has clearly stated that anyone who has demonstrated pro-life tendencies will be opposed. This does not seem very “Open Minded” to me.