William Rehnquist: 1924-2005

I have often joked that the two states to which I claim allegiance – Maryland and Wisconsin – are somewhat cursed insofar as the people to have risen the highest in the national scene from their ranks have become veritable embarrassments. Maryland will always be stuck with memories of Spiro Agnew – the vice president who had to resign from the Nixon administration – and Wisconsin will long be plagued by a senator named Joseph McCarthy whom its citizens sent to Washington.

But the reality is that one man from Wisconsin actually rose higher than Mr. McCarthy: William Rehnquist. Only the 16th Chief Justice of the United States, Mr. Rehnquist served some 34 years on the Supreme Court – more than half of them at the helm of the judicial body.

Mr. Rehnquist died last night. And while the nation seems eager to go through the steps of grieving, his passing will perhaps be less noted than it ought to be simply because of the pressing nature of other current events (namely Hurricane Katrina). He was a fair justice, a brilliant writer and an independently-minded conservative. Never afraid to dissent, Mr. Rehnquist was all-too-often in the minority. By the late 1980s, many of his old dissents had become law as the court – and, indeed, the country – turned to the right.

The politics of his remaining dissents will doubtlessly be debated in the coming days, weeks, months and years. Roe v. Wade remains a rough point for much of America, as does a litany of decisions on affirmative action and other high-profile issues, including the recent case on eminent domain. But for now it would seem time to give Mr. Rehnquist what little remembrance this harsh news cycle will allow.

He was a man who served his country. And, yes, he did so in a more visible way than any other Wisconsin native in American history.