Thursday, December 15, 2011
Law Republican takeover of federal courts
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 7:09 AM
Linda Greenhouse writes here to lament the defeat of yet another supremely qualified — and non-ideological — appointee to a federal appeals court. It was a party line Senate vote to block Caitlin Halligan's appointment. The Republican strategy, thanks to filibuster abuse, is to allow only appointment of conservative judges to the bench. It's another illustration of a dysfunctional Congress, led by Republican tricks. But Greenhouse also uses the occasion to review the pitiful history compiled by the self-proclaimed brilliant historian Newt Gingrich on the federal courts. His misunderstandings include the landmark Little Rock desegregation case.
Perhaps strangest of all is Mr. Gingrich’s attack on Cooper v. Aaron, the court’s celebrated response to the Little Rock school crisis of 1958. The unanimous opinion, signed individually by all nine justices for emphasis, held that Arkansas and all other states were bound by the court’s interpretation of the equal protection guarantee four years earlier in Brown v. Board of Education. Cooper v. Aaron was, as Justice Breyer writes in his recent book, “Making Our Democracy Work,” essential in its time and part of the “hard-earned victory for the rule of law” that the Little Rock story became. Newt Gingrich is unmoved. Cooper v. Aaron’s assertion of the Supreme Court’s authority, he writes, was “factually and historically false.”
Add it to the growing list of Newtron bombs that will enliven the campaign season but bode ill for the republic.
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Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
Oh, how i long for the days of 2005 when the confirmation of federal judges was all the rage. The R's told us that to filibuster a judge was THE GREATEST THREAT TO DEMOCRACY EVER! Now, eh, not so much.
What would be SO COOL if someone in the media or (gasp) a democrat, might point this out.
Of course, since no one is allowed to talk about what happened from 2001-2009, none of this will happen.
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"But Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was troubled by Halligan's record arguing against trying enemy combatants in military tribunals as well as her support for "nuisance" lawsuits like suing gun manufacturers for crimes committed with weapons.
He added that as solicitor general for former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Halligan also took "activists positions" like supporting NOW's claim that pro-life groups had engaged in extortion; the use of race in college and law school admissions is constitutional; illegal immigrants should be awarded back pay in labor disputes in the United States; and the Clean Air Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases"
'non-ideological'----hardly! This isn't any different than the votes against Bush's nominations to the courts that were 'deep-sixed' by democrats.
Actually Holmes, I think the positions the nominee has argued represent intelligent views and, of course, not those of the Rethuglican Party.
They represent 'leftist' views that are IDEOLOGICAL and not shared by most of the American people. What I object to is the obvious mischaracterization. Let's attempt to pursue some honesty here. Common sense dictates that this lady is ideological.
Separate but equal is his speed? Need to watch out what you wish for because some Texans may be told, in some areas, to ride in the "back of the bus". There is also a county in Kansas, of all places, with a minority/majority population. I guess this shows how qualified Newt is as a "historian" for that bundle he got paid by Fannie Mae.
He is just a smooth-talking version of Ron Paul with the same out-of-date ideas from the 1920's except Newt's seem to reflect the 1950's.
Perhaps we should contact Sen. Pryor to speak on this event juxtaposed with the filibustered nomination of one Miguel Estrada.
The right wing has defined themselves as mainstream and all moderates as left wing extremists. This is very similar to how Fox defined itself as fair and balanced and all stations with balanced coverage as extremist.
They have also pursued an activist agenda with the courts, to the point of basing judicial decisions on party membership, ala' the Soviet Union. (See Griffin, Tim)
This is entirely a D party choice. As a majority party, they make the rules in the US Senate before each new session... and they made it very clear they wanted to keep the GOP empowered to do this.
It is the D party that defines themselves more than the GOP here... no amount of denial on the part of the D cheerleading squad here can prove otherwise. Though you do look and sound exactly like the GOPers on this blog did in the Bush Cheney years. Exactly. Fact free fanatics refusing to look at the most basic facts about your own.
Before attempting to understand-comprehend anything Grinch says you really need some background:
"Is Newt Nuts?
Consider the symptoms: Bouts of grandiosity, megalomania, irritability, impulsiveness, spending sprees …
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_pol…
For more reality, Media Matters looks at those conservative "concerns" SHolmes brought up: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201112020009
Americans get it. They know who's stonewalling. They know who's blocking action on all fronts in D.C.
Both Pew and Gallup polls show the same thing.
"Majorities of all adults view the Republican Party as more extreme in its positions and less willing to work with the other side, and pluralities now view the Democrats as more honest and ethical and better able to manage the government."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/c…
and not shared by most of the American people
Drink another quart of Koolade & watch some more faux news dummy.
SHolmes, who was it again that appointed you spokesman for the American people?
Wonder if they will tell the people of Arkansas a human life 'matters' Justice4Sarah.org
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