It's Time To Be Afaid - Very Afraid - by Jonathan Turley

[springhill]

THE NOMINATION OF JOHN ROBERTS
It's time to be afraid, very afraid

By Jonathan Turley
law professor at George Washington Law School
Published July 24, 2005


In 1948, a young Abner Mikva (future Illinois congressman and federal judge) reportedly walked into an Illinois Democratic committeeman's office to volunteer as an enthusiastic young Democrat. The cigar-chomping committeeman looked suspiciously at Mikva and asked, "Who sent you?" Mikva answered "Nobody." The committeeman then barked, "We don't want nobody nobody sent."

It is a Chicago lesson that comes to mind with last week's Supreme Court nomination. For conservative groups, nominee John Roberts was not sent by nobody but by President Bush--and that appears to be enough. While his views are not well-known publicly, Roberts is well-known in the Beltway and in the White House.

With little public record, the White House was able to focus on personality rather than ideology. Indeed, the comments of the White House and others made it sound like we're adopting a golden retriever: He is "kind," "loyal," "family-oriented," "faithful" and "friendly." The only thing missing is an American Kennel Club certificate that he was free of hip dysplasia.

The suggestion that Roberts is not as hard-right as other people on the shortlist confuses style with substance. As someone who believes that Bush is entitled to such a nominee, I am less bothered by the fact that he is extremely conservative as I am the odd suggestion that he might be a swing vote on the Supreme Court. If Roberts is a swing vote on the court, it would be between the far right and the farther right.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0507240283jul24,0,3478941.story?coll=chi-newsopinioncommentary-hed

[Skink]

1. I'd vote to confirm Bork if it would wake people up in this country...

It's gonna take an attempt at reversing Roe to get get people to realize how bad things have gotten.

[chaumont58]

2. This is a good line:

"The only thing missing is an American Kennel Club certificate that he was free of hip dysplasia."

That's a keeper.

[hlthe2b]

3. Oh, God, just the title and knowing it is from Jonathan Turley...

who, I respect has me afraid to read further.... but I shall....
:shrug: