Michael Steele: "Empathize Right On Your Behind!"

While guest hosting Bill Bennett's radio show Friday, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele gave his own perspective on whether a Supreme Court Justice should have "empathy." President Obama said on the campaign trail that it was a quality he would look for in a nominee. Via ThinkProgress:

"Good morning y'all, we're back in the house. We're talking a little bit of Constitution and a little bit Supreme Court. And a whole lot of saving America's judicial system and saving our rights as citizens and not having empathetic judges decide cases, but rather judges who are actually understanding the rule of law and what the Constitution and those laws are all about. And how to apply the facts to the law and the law to the facts. And adjudicate my case. I don't need some judge sitting up there feeling bad for my opponent because of their life circumstances or their condition. And short changing me and my opportunity to get fair treatment under the law. Crazy nonsense empathetic. I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness."

Listen :

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently suggested "empathy" was code for judicial activism. Obama's full quote on the issue:

You know, Justice Roberts said he saw himself just as an umpire. But the issues that come before the court are not sport. They're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart to recogni-- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges.

Earlier this week, the "Daily Show" mocked Republicans' aversion to empathetic judges. Watch:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
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According to spokesman Robert Gibbs, "the president is looking for somebody with a record of excellence, with a record of integrity, somebody who understand the rule of law, and somebody who understands how being a judge affects everyday lives."

According to ABC News, Obama has formalized his short list.

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Comments

[graceland9]

"Empathize right on your behind." How old is this guy?

"So's your mom?" "Oh, yeah?" Rubber...glue...

[NTexasHillbilly]

You are correct-this has to be one of the most juvenile statements on record to come out a repube's mouth, or wherever it came from. In Spanish, it's "Tu abuela en changos", roughly, "Your granny in combat boots."

[SuiginTou7]

Micheal, The president has been out maneuvering you from day one. The only 'behind' taking a beating is yours.

[JiminNC]

That doesn't rhyme Steele -

[Marnie1]

Well at least Steele is honest.
The RepoTaliban Party has no empathy for human beings, only for corporations and the obscenely rich.

Steele would not be where he is if the majority of whites in this country had not empathized with the lack of equal rights of blacks.
But hey, he's got his, and he has no empathy, so screw everybody else who needs the Supreme Court to unhold the Consitiution and use its power to protect averager citizens, even to protect air heads like Steele.

I marvel at how the Republican Party has managed to find so many stupid, cruel people and to put them into positions of power. It is a true crime, because these tyrannosaurs have so much capacity to cause harm and to destroy.

[katekid]

what a low class kook!
great pick, GOP

[cobraxus]

GOP.No longer grand,barely a party but their nonsense is getting pretty old.

[concentric1]

Steele, Palin, Cantor, Shelby, Vitter, Hatch, Sanford, Coleman, Pence, McConnell, Boehner--they will say anything, do anything to appear intelligent but at the end of the day the entire bunch have a collective IQ of 70.

[democracy7]

They may say or do anything but you can't convince me that they have any more intelligence than a fungus.

[blaising]

As much of an embarrassment as Steele is to the GOP, they'll leave him alone for a long while, hoping to get milage out of the "see what happens when a black man has power" guilt-by-association thing.

[blaising]

Found this on Wikipedia...

The Noah Party was formed in the spring of 2009 by former Republicans such as Eric Cantor and Sarah Palin, and by Southern States' Rights supporters such as Rick Perry. Opponents of the party ridiculed it as a reconstitution of the old Whig party. Many southerners, who hated Obama's power grabs and stance during the economic crisis, supported the new party, as did many Anti-Democrats.
In its early form, the Noah Party was united only by opposition to the policies of President Barack Obama, especially his distribution of bailouts from the Treasury of the United States without the consent of Congress. The Noahs pledged themselves to Congressional supremacy, as opposed to "King Obama's" executive actions. The Noahs saw President Barack Obama as a dangerous crusader of socialism with a reactionary opposition to the forces of social, economic, and moral conservatism. As Obama purged his opponents, created new social programs, and killed the torture policies of the United States, alarmed local elites fought back. They argued that Congress, not the President, reflected the will of the people.

[solarian]

sounds like treason

[JRsNana]

Funny, over the last 8 years, we saw a power grabbing President unlike any this nation has ever seen. And from you people - NOTHING! Funny, over the last 2 years (since there was a Democratic majority) we heard that Congress shouldn't reflect the will of the people, that the President 's word was sacrosanct. The hypocracy of you people is becoming more legendary by the day. The Noah Party is easily the most racist and divisive party since the KKK. Most of the people involved don't even know the meaing of the term socialist.. We've been through too much over the last 8 years to put up with ignorance on this level. Do you have any idea how many signing statements George Bush made during his tenure? Do you have any idea how many times you people undermined and totally bashed the role of Congress just so George Bush could continue to exploit his power? REad something besides Wikipedia, you might be amazed at what you've missed out on by only watching FAUX "news" and listening to Limbaugh/Hannity/Beck.

[blaising]

I knew Steele was a butt-buddy.

[flossophy]

Why is rule of law such a difficult concept for leftists to understand?

50 years from now, supreme court jurists will have to consider what kind of empathy played a part in previous court decisions... pure folly.

[BillMelater]

Yes, its time to brush and floss now Sonny. Then pack yourself off to school.

[trimom]

Political Science 101. The only cases that the Supreme Court hears are those in which very educated lower court judges cannot agree regarding "the rule of law". They are complex and one could reasonably argue all sides.

All Obama wants to do is make sure that the next court pick actually looks at the big picture rather than the Republican choices that have been making good use of blinders.

The reason that court decisions are revisited from time to time, say "50 years from now" is because our interpretation of "the rule of law" changes over time.

There are plenty of good Supreme Court historical books at your local bookstore. I would suggest reading one.

[publanski]

It's the "rightists" on the supreme court who handed Bush the election 9 years ago that seem to have a trouble understand the concept of rule of law. And it hasn't taken 50 years to see their folly.

[WretchedEtcher]

Stop with the cliched alarmism already. "leftists don't understand the rule of law" - how simple and trite.

The very nature of law is that it needs to be interpreted. For example "thou shall not kill" - easy enough...should there be no exceptions? no empathy for soldiers? no empathy for self-defense?

Right now we have some of the highest crime rates in the world. We have one of the highest prison rates in the world. Seeing how many European countries do not have such crime issues...perhaps a more left leaning approach is really more effective and therefore more practical.

Should Bush and Dick get any empathy for breaking the law and authorizing torture? Should we care that they were trying to protect us? Should we even consider the reason?

Having empathy for others is the backbone of society.

[joemondo]

Given the Bush administration's flagrant disregard for the rule of law, one can only conclude your comments were intended as sarcasm.

[duchessofdork]

Wow. This man's talent for buffoonery never ceases to amaze me.

[BetterDays]

LOL. Stewart or Steele???

[JLRoberson]

Sigh. Just when you think they've disintegrated down to their very elements, they start to deteriorate at the subatomic level.

Between this and Hannity's Liberty Tree, I'm wondering what stage of paresis they've hit, because this is starting to sound like dementia.

[cobraxus]

well-worded excellent point all round.

[danonchalant1]

Steele is such a tool! He spews such unesessary bile, at such an important time in this nation's history, yet! He brings absolutly nothing useful to the table in a vain attempt to placate his G.O.P master's whims. I strongly believe he does not believe in any of the points he makes. He just preens for the camera. Such a shame that this man will go down in history as a bootlicking clown! I beg you, if there is a spine in your back, come to the light!

[weatherwaxx]

The one downside of Barack Obama's election -- the GOP had to stick this clown in as a figurehead to say, "Look! We've got one, too!"

Pitiful.

[filo]

I'd rather have him than someone competent.