A big week for "judicial activism"

[and-justice-for-all]

If the conservative media have taught us anything else -- and they haven't -- it's that members of the judiciary who are progressive and don't adhere strictly to right-wingers' shifting interpretations of the law are "judicial activists" who "legislate from the bench" and see the Constitution as a "living document" and so forth. Of course, the conservative faction of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is carving out quite a legacy of judicial activism, but that doesn't count because they're conservatives.

And speaking of the Roberts court, it picked up its newest member this week as Elena Kagan, President Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, was confirmed by the Senate in a largely party-line vote that, while it got the job done, did not portend well for future nominations. She will be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court in spite of a spirited smear campaign by conservatives who were not about to limit themselves to cries of "judicial activism." They hurled just about every attack they could at Kagan throughout the nomination process, and it's still going strong even though the deed is done.

Just this week alone, conservatives attempted to force a delay on Kagan's vote by screaming that she lied to the Judiciary Committee about her stance on partial birth abortion. When that failed, they claimed she does not believe in and seeks to destroy the Constitution, they attacked her looks, and even called her a stealth Muslim.

But as intense as the attacks on Kagan were, the fusillade against Judge Vaughn Walker was even worse. Walker ruled this week that California's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and right-wingers lit into him not just because he ruled against their interests, but because he's gay. "Nero, like Judge Vaughn, wanted the community to embrace his unnatural way of life," declared The Washington Times, perhaps subconsciously acknowledging the stale antiquity of its position. The Times also insisted that Walker should have recused himself from the case because he is gay, a ludicrous argument that earned swift rebukes from people who actually know what they're talking about.

The intense right-wing focus on Judge Walker's personal life, however, managed to overlook one aspect of his background -- the fact that he was nominated as a federal judge by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

But such things are bound to happen to "judicial activists" when they do clearly unconstitutional things like stand up for equal rights.

[cleanhippie]

1. The hypocrisy never cease to amaze me.

Its "activism" when a ruling goes against them, yet when in favor, it was A-OK, as in the Citizens Untied case.