HuffPost Blogger Scoops 60 Minutes

On April 10, 2008, Justice Antonin Scalia was given an award at the University of Virginia. Scalia was a founder of the Federalist Society; while he was at the school, he spoke at a lunch for UVa Fed. Soc. members.

Guess what? I'm a member. I went.

When he was done speaking, I was able to chat him up a little bit. And, what do you know? It looks like this lil' ol' blogger scooped 60 Minutes' Leslie Stahl.

Here's the audio:

Some comments on the rest of the audio...

As you heard, Scalia suggested the Court's credibility wasn't hurt because if it came out the other way, partisans from his side would have been just as contemptuous of the institution.

Unfortunately, that argument is betrayed by the reasoning he used in explaining that the decision was just fine. He said that if the the Court had not stepped up, the Florida legislature or United States House would have decided the election and the result would have been the same.

Well... the truth is that if Scalia and the rest of his band of usurpers had applied the law, the decision would have favored Gore. After that, he's probably right - the Republican House or Florida's Republican legislature would have determined which slate of electors to seat.

And that is exactly how it should have played out.

The House and Florida legislature are designed to be political - the Court is not. We elect our legislators - if we don't like what they do, we replace them. We cannot replace a Supreme Court Justice. In deciding a political issue, the Court clearly went far beyond its proper bounds.

I would have liked to have asked him about the recusal process - with a family member working on Bush's transition team, shouldn't he and Thomas have recused themselves? Ah... but it isn't often that a law student gets to argue with a Supreme Court Justice and even I possess limits to my audacity... Maybe another time...

Comments

[TruthAndConsequences]

Every four years I remind others about how vital it is to elect the Democrat because of the potential threat of the Republican to appoint right-wing ideologues to the Supreme Court. And every four years, for some reason the press never picks up on how absolutely critical this is as a factor in choosing whom to vote for. (On the off chance that potential court appointments do come up, it is always cast as a "litmus test" for the Democrat on abortion, but never the other way around, although the right wing is far more strident about ensuring that the Republican meets their "litmus test.")

Now we have a ruling today that legitimizes photo IDs as necessary for voting, even if it creates a huge impediment. This a week or so after the court tells us that a little pain is OK when conducting executions. We get rulings like this because the press fails in its duty to inform the public of these potential consequences when electing a presidential candidate (yet another way in which we are poorly served by the press).

Just because Bush will be gone next year doesn't mean the damage he can cause will be over. His asshole court selections will ensure that we'll have pro-corporate, anti-individual rights rulings (and potentially an overturning of Roe v. Wade) for years.

One huge, yet usuaully neglected, reason to vote for the Democrat against McCain.

[Durango]

I confess that i couldn't watch the love fest on 60 minutes. I don't really care anything about the "upclose and personal" BS that passes for journalism.

But Leslie forgot to ask him about his opinion that pretty much sums up this legal "genius."

The one where he says innocence is no defense against execution. According to Scalia as long as the process was 'fair" the state can wack your ass. Even if the evidence shows that you are innocent.Once you had your chance that's it.

Masterful legal reasoning.

[juangault]

I saw part of it too, he couldn't connect the dots between cruel and unusual punisment, and torture.

[mellene]

If Americans want more of this vile type of Supreme Court Justice, than McCain's your boy. He DIDN'T deounce torture or stealing of the presidency, but brushed it aside as old news or "so" like VP Cheney did to ABC's Martha Raddich. Americans must think before they cast a ballot in November whether or not they want McCain who says Scalia is an ideal judge of whom he'd appoint more just like him to the bench.

[joecharles]

Now, how did this neo-fascist gumba know what the eventual 2000 Florida vote count would have been if the counting continued? Another neocon embued with devine inspiration!! Watch out, they're comin' for our white women!

[raker]

Scalia's charm and brilliance escape me. I see a smug, self-satisfied, contemptible sophist, a tragic character like Colin Powell or Clarence Thomas. Deep religious conviction and absolute certainty about right and wrong have given the world some evil characters, like Bush, Scalia, and the Saudi Arabian terrorists who blew up the World Trade Center.

[Oldbuck]

Scalia is scary but I guess we can do like Roosevelt threaten to do during his administration is when we finale get tired of being run over by the fringe right we can elect enough congress man and women to pass increasing the size of the court and appoint some judges to balance the court.

[JoDeeVa]

Can't wait to see the "60 Minutes" spin on him. He's scary. About the time he uttered "get over it, the vote was 7 to 2, blahblahblah"..I swear that all I could hear in my head was "fahgetta 'bout it!" I would have been outa' there in a heartbeat! What a thug! Glad you got out alive...

Just keep repeating:
"It made no difference to America"..
"It made no difference to America"..
"It made no difference to America"..

[JoDeeVa]

O.K...I just watched "60 Minutes" and I was wrong! I didn't intend to color Italian-Americans, even him, with that stereotype. It's an image he has clearly sought to vanquish in society-at-large.

So, I WAS wrong..he's not a thug, just an arrogant bully! And, I still think he's scary, ( & dangerous) as a Supreme Court Justice!

[Durango]

And he kept repeating:

Get over it.
Get over it.
Get over it.

[Gasparilla]

The kicker was that the Court made it's decision based on a fourteenth amendment "equal protection" argument. They bought the argument that allowing hand counted votes would "dilute" the votes of others that were not contested. But that was a throwing the baby out with the bathwater approach. Those who cast the votes unreadable by machine were completely disenfranchised. There was more than enough time for the Court to set a standard and let judges, as ordered by the Florida Court, count the disputed votes. If the concern was really that the will of voter was the ultimate goal of the process, they would have not ordered the counting stopped. And they did not order the votes that had already been hand counted in a couple counties to be disqualified. They were recognized as legal votes.

[imajoebob]

"We elect our legislators - if we don't like what they do, we replace them. We cannot replace a Supreme Court Justice."

But we can have our legislators remove a Supreme Court Justice. Since at last count Mr. Justice Scalia has at least 3 decisions where he had a significant conflict of interest, and each time he acknowledged the conflict but refused to recuse himself, then it's time for our elected officials to replace him. Preferably after we elect a new Democratic president.

If they don't want to replace Scalia, we can always replace them.

[willfarnaby]

One of great summary postings to Huffington Post.

EVERYONE party to the rampant national and international criminality by, for and of the Bush Administration must be fully investigated, and as warranted, prosecuted to the fullest extent of national and international law.

------------------------------------------------------
"But as anyone with a brain knows, Scalia wasn't about to let anyone other than himself and his 4 outlaws decide who was going to be president. And then to state in writing that this particular SCOTUS case, for the first time in history, should not be considered a precedent only confirmed the worst suspicions of anyone paying attention.

Like the rest of his kind, Scalia the Scourge should be in impeached and imprisoned for what he's done to this nation. The fact that he and they aren't is a telling indictment in itself as to what the U.S. has become."

[burnt]

"We elect our legislators - if we don't like what they do, we replace them."

Yes, and if "we" don't like independent US Prosecutors, the Justice Department replaces them with Federalist Society lap dogs loyal to CheneyOilCo. I'm guessing that you're not on the "invite list"...?

alienated in Seattle

[StealthisBlog]

The Electoral college could have proceeded with or without the Florida electors. See in other words the Electoral college could have said: Florida is too confusing and we will just exclude their slate and proceed. The President would be chosen by the remaining Electors, (quite enough for a quorum). Check out the process from 1864 when MANY states were excluded. Remember that the Confederacy was not recognized by the US government as legitimate and therefore still part of the Union. As such, they should have had the opportunity to send Electors in 1864. Now, as those states chose not to, the College proceeded without them.

[Durango]

Imagine: Allowing Constitutional processes to work themselves out in the 2000 election? Unthinkable!

Not when the majority of the Supreme Court could intervene and assure their political preference was chosen.

Just goes to show how much contempt Scalia, and other so called "conservatives" have for our Constitution.

But of course the 2000 election was only the start of the overthrowing of our Constitution. Which was written to specifically prevent the actions taken by Scalias favorite Fortunate Son.

[jont191]

screw scalia,thomas roberts,and the other neocons on the kangaroo court

[1differentdrummer]

God job on the article. Scalia was bought and paid for. How many $s did it take?

[scooperss]

Supreme Court Justice or not, he's still JUST a man. It may have been your only time to ask and you chickened out. For shame.

[jnratliff]

He needs a vacation in gitmo and a little waterboarding to get his mind right. ya think so boss?