Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts
Re: AP SPIN METER: GOP Senators Shifting Standards On Supreme Court Nominees, Henry C. Jackson, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — So, Senator, how much does judicial experience matter when considering a Supreme Court nominee?
To Republicans, it depends on conservative issues. For their ideology? Then it doesn’t take much experience at all.
Bush nominated Roberts for Chief Justice because of Bush v. Gore. Remember that? It was the worst ruling by the Supreme Court in US history. Roberts represented Bush and wrote the brief. He was instrumental in successfully arguing the case. Once the Supreme Court gave Bush the Presidency, Bush later nominated him for DC circuit judge when it became available. This began the worst case of cronyism in recent history. Roberts wasn’t qualified for the Circuit. Then, after he had only served about a year as a DC circuit judge, Bush nominated him for the second time, this time for the US Supreme Court. Before that, he had no judicial experience. His experience that would qualify him for associate justice was “thin” to say the least, but chief justice? Bush propelled him to the top for winning Bush v. Gore. His views? This is from Wikipedia, “As a lawyer in the George H. W. Bush administration, Roberts signed a legal brief urging the court to overturn Roe v. Wade“. Do you need anything else? If you do, then consider that Roberts recused himself from Hamden v. Rumsfeld, a case that challenged the Bush administration’s ability to try detainees at Gitmo in military tribunals, because he had already ruled on this case as a member of the DC circuit. He ruled in favor of Bush, of course.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito had more experience as a judge, but looking at his rulings you have to wonder if experience alone qualifies him. While serving on the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, Alito wrote in the dissent on Doe v. Groody that police, while serving a search warrant, conducting a strip search of a mother and her 10 year old daughter did not violate the mother and daughter’s constitutional rights because of “qualified immunity”, a legal defense for state and federal employees protecting them from civil actions. This is the guy that Bush figured would make a fine supreme court justice. This and other rulings were questioned during his nomination hearings. Alito was nominated by a vote of 58-42, the second lowest vote for a supreme court nominee in US history.
The right wing is crying about the nomination of Elena Kagen who is a moderate, yet these two right wing hard-liners were confirmed and are serving on the Supreme Court. This is a dark time for justice in America.
_______________________________________________________________________
Follow me on Twitter!
Could This be Where It All Begins?
The Progress Report wrote:
Could this be where it all begins? President Obama said in Chicago after his triumphant victory that this is the time where it all begins, where generations from now will look back and point to this time as where we started to heal. Could this be a new beginning for American politics – one that swells the ranks of those who think that we must wean ourselves from oil. It could be. It could happen with the right circumstances. All that needs to happen now is for a voice to come forth with strength and enough forcefulness to keep the momentum alive.
Could these men be that voice? Can the Democratic Party candidate for president in 2004, John Kerry, and the Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate in 2000, Joe Lieberman, have the gravitas to not only rally the base but gain enough momentum with all Americans to build a strong national sentiment toward finally ridding ourselves of oil? Could the introduction of this bill, The American Power Act, one that could really mean something toward a clean future for our grand kids, and one that is introduced at a time of decreased interest in off-shore drilling, be the greatest timing ever?
The disaster in slow motion that is happening now off the coast of New Orleans may be the shock that we need as a nation to move the country in the right direction – toward capping CO2 emissions and toward renewable power. It has never been a question of “if” we move toward renewable power and end our addiction to coal and oil, but a question of “when”. That when could be and must be, now.
____________________________________________________
(all tags),atheist,atheism,political opinion,politics opinion,democrats,political blog,political commentary,liberal blog,atheist blog,progressive blog,republicans,a second look,blog,news opinion,commentary,Beyond Petroleum,The Progress Report,where it all begins,oil addiction,Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT),The American Power Act,veto over drilling,green transportation initiatives,natural gas trucks and buses,offshore drilling,New Orleans,ongoing climate disasters,reduce demand for oil