If you thought Spielberg’s box-office hit War of the Worlds would feature this summer’s greatest battle over the future of human civilization, guess again. Right this very moment ranks are forming on Capitol Hill in response to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s announcement July 1 that she will retire upon the nomination and confirmation of her successor. This immediate division within the Senate made clear that a hard-line conservative nominee would spell war and put into play a potential Democratic filibuster. Conservatives, however, aren’t backing down and have already launched a multimillion-dollar TV campaign to discredit the motives and views of liberals – with liberals expected to shell out a near-equal amount later in the nomination process.

The stakes are especially high, because Bush will be replacing a justice who was the decisive vote on numerous volatile social issues. Liberals and conservatives alike are weighing in as to what effect her replacement could have on such issues as capital punishment, doctor-assisted suicide, and perhaps the most divisive of all, abortion.

The GLBT community is taking considerable interest in who Bush will nominate as O’Connor’s successor, because the Supreme Court will decide the fate of numerous issues concerning our community – including federally recognized same-sex marriage rights.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in reaction to the announcement, “Justice O’Connor’s retirement is a clarion call to every American that our rights are in grave danger. The loss of [her] moderate voice is a serious threat to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, to woman’s rights and to protections for racial, ethnic and religious minorities.”

Known for her swing vote on abortion as well as other contentious issue, O’Connor’s retirement represents a possible shift in the court. With her moderate voice less predictable than her liberal and conservative counterparts, a staunch conservative could tip the balance toward the right, threatening over 50 years of progress.

O’Connor’s resignation was a modest shock to court watchers, who expected Justice William Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer, to be the first to step down. Speculators point to 85-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens as another soon-to-be retiree, meaning three Supreme Court lifetime appointments could be made during Bush’s second term, prompting what one Washington Post writer is calling a new era of “conservative judicial activism.”

To replace swinger O’Connor with a hardliner would enrage liberals and further polarize an already divided government. However, Bush would risk alienating his far-right base if he chooses a moderate. The president is expected to send a nomination to the Senate for a vote by the time court begins its new term in October.

Long after Bush leaves office, his judicial appointees will continue to impact issues concerning are basic fundamental rights as human beings, stamping his ultra-conservative legacy onto future generations.

The current administration has already openly attacked GLBT rights with its anti-gay agenda, proposing the Federal Marriage Amendment, fighting to uphold “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” advocating against GLBT content in sex education curriculums and on public television, and cutting funding for GLBT and HIV/AIDS organizations. And, with a Republican majority in Congress and the White House, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court means the GOP would control all three branches of government.

This war will wage on to the bitter end, as Democrats and Republicans face off to influence the few senators that both sides believe may hold the necessary votes to confirm or deny Bush’s nominee. Our hope lies in a potential backlash spurred by moderate Republicans who feel increasingly estranged from their party and its alliance with the religious right.

The executive powers of the president have profound consequences on every citizen living within the United States, and even the world. The gravity of this nomination is a reminder of the significance of each and every vote, and the importance of our community’s continued political participation.