The SCOTUS decision is ironic. It overturns a 1907 REPUBLICAN law.

[Kablooie]

This restriction dates back to 1907, when President Theodore Roosevelt called on Congress to forbid corporations, railroads and national banks from using their money in federal election campaigns.

[insanity]

1. 1907 Republicans are not the same Republicans today

There were some crucial realigning elections in the 30s and 60s that basically made the parties switch.

That said, the SCOTUS sold our country to the highest bidder today

[newtothegame]

10. Democrats aren't the same either; what party would Kennedy be in today? n/t

[insanity]

19. He would still be a Democrat

The Democratic Party was highly popular amongst American Catholics. It was actually Kennedy's successor, LBJ, that caused the Republicans to dominate the South.

[newtothegame]

20. Sorry, but I disagree...

Based upon the principles and ideals upon which he governed and stood for in 1963, he would never earn the presidential nomination from the left today.

ed for sp

[insanity]

21. Well

He might not earn the nomination, but he'd still identify with the Democratic Party.

[newtothegame]

22. Fair enough...

:hi:

[BadgerKid]

2. Churches to incorporate in 3...2...1... n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. Oops.

:evilgrin:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. What about freaking stare decisis? Just shows they were lying through their teeth

in their confirmations.

Oh no! Mrs. Alito is crying!

[DavidDvorkin]

4. Theodore Roosevelt would have despised today's Republican party

He wouldn't have been too impressed by today's Democratic Party, either.

[Kablooie]

6. I'm reading a biography of Roosevelt right now. An AMAZING person!

[Roland99]

12. He has been my favorite President since I was in grade school.

[Kablooie]

14. If you haven't read it, I recommend "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt". Pulitzer prize winner.

[Roland99]

16. Thanks! I'll look for it.

[PVnRT]

15. He'd have also supported invading Iraq and Afghanistan

He'd be a very strange member of the progressive caucus, at any rate.

[DemoTex]

17. TR and the GOP fell out in 1912

Teddy Roosevelt, a populist and conservationist, was wildly popular with voters. But the corporatists and robber barons saw to it that TR did not get the GOP nomination for president in 1912. So TR formed his own party: The Bullmoose Party. Unfortunately, the liberal vote was splintered and Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, won the election with 42% of the vote.

To understand why Teddy Roosevelt is probably spinning in his grave today, read Timothy Eagan's excellent The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire That Saved America. It looks like TR's archenemy, GOP Senator Weldon Heyburn (whose obituary in the New York Times in 1912 said "a stalwart who was widely known for his unyielding bitterness") has had the last laugh.

Too bad. I am sad beyond comprehension at the turn of events in the last couple of months. But I will be studying the speeches and writings of Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot as I pull my fire watch in a national forest with the US Forest Service this summer, the 100th anniversary of the Big Burn of 1910.


The Black Butte-II Fire of July 6, 2009 in the Deschutes National Forest

[slampoet]

24. Teddy Despised the Republican party DURING HIS LIFETIME. That's why he ran as the Bull Moose

candidate for president and He BEAT the Republican candidate.

The GOP was a third place party in that election.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. It's more than ironic in my opinion. I think it is treasonous and subverts the whole

system of voting and Democracy. Does it open us up to foreign influence and meddling? Do we even exist as a sovereign Democratic nation anymore? Is this really the fastrack to the endgame for Democracy?

I think we should be in the streets over this one. I think the Supreme Court should be investigated. I think Alito and Roberts lied in their confirmations when they said they respected stare decisis. I think they should both be impeached on those grounds.

[SOS]

7. Wall Street bucket shops were also outlawed in 1907, legalized in 2000

Looks like we are turning the clock back 103 years.

[Javaman]

8. No irony. They are not republicans. The are fascists. nt

[Raster]

11. Corporate fascists.

And the SCOTUS is their bitch.

[glitch]

13. My first thought. Good thing I read through all the responses for a change. nt

[athenasatanjesus]

18. Theodore Roosevelt would be enraged if he ran into a modern rethug NT

[Libertas1776]

23. It's not really that ironic considering

this really isn't a Republican or Democratic thing. It's a haves vs have nots thing. It's about corporate fascism vs democracy. The whole Republican vs Democratic thing is a shell, an illusion of its former self.