I am thankful that John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg continue to draw breath, since the presence of Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee means that George W. Bush could name Karl Rove to the Supreme Court and the nomination would fail to be killed before reaching the Senate floor.
Ted Kennedy
Rev. Jesse Jackson
Vice President Al Gore
Paris Hilton
Tony Saprano
Karl Rove
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Never has there been a Supreme Court justice
who wasn't an experienced lawyer, though not
necessarily law-school trained. No doubt there
was one or two not a college graduate, if you
go back far enough. Long ago you could be one
without the other. Today? Not at all likely.
As for Mukasey & Schumer. Obviously, there's
some kind of relationship at work there. As
for Feinstein, maybe she just has to do as
Schumer says.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06schumer.html
Of course those who see this as some sort of answer to the ills of any current government somehow overlook that "the people" are just as torn and conflicted and stubborn and corrupted and idealistic and flawed and biased as their elected representatives.
Haven't they listened to "man on the street" interviews? Ever hear anyone that you would want on your local City Council?... and that includes the interviewer.
On these blogs we gravitate toward the messages we agree with and thus begin to assume there are not only others sharing our views, but enough to form a movement of "folks like us".
Except we eventually notice that occasional wackos intrude with outrageous comments and perhaps, perhaps, "we the people" are not of one mind.
So if we expect our elected officials to exhibit significantly different behaviors than we see among our neighbors, family and work colleagues, we may have to hold our candidate searches on a different planet....
Meanwhile, we must in future assume that, excluding the other planet option, we can at a minimum exclude candidates from Texas and Wyoming...
The second tell is the more revealing, however.
Both Feinstein and Schumer had the choice to broker with the Republicans or the Democrats behind closed doors. They chose to negotiate with the Republicans and humiliate their Democratic peers in public. Democrats are not this either.
I do not believe either to be Democrats, and I think they find themselves inside a party they do not support. I think they risk their careers to change parties, but I believe it is in their respective futures, as it was for Leibermann. The Democrats need to deny them their positions of influence in the party and cut its losses.
It is unknowable and unpredictable what mischief they will make in the upcoming election. If past is prologue, their behavior will be hidden from view and probably not in the party's interest, as based on the evidence. For the Democrats to be in denial of what just happened is dangerous and naive. Feinstein must be removed from the judiciary committee now.
I bet Bush could still ramrod that fat bastard into the Supreme Court, though.
1. to educate the public about the assaults on the Constitution by this administration and the effect of those assaults on our national security and welfare, our individual rights and the reputation of our nation in the world; and
(2) to fulfill the constitutional duty of congressmen to protect and defend the Constitution, without which we are no longer a nation of laws.
Further, such hearings might preoccupy C & B enough to prevent them from entangling us in yet another unauthorized and unnecessary war before they leave office.
The Democratic leadership, as well as the troops that fall in line with the "impeachment is off the table" fiat, seem not to understand that impeachment CANNOT be off the table if they are to fulfill their oath of office -- to protect and defend the Constitution. That is their duty -- not checking with pollsters to see where impeachment ranks in a list of voter concerns. Polls by the Democratic party that I've been asked to respond to did not include impeachment as one of the options. No wonder it didn't rank among the top 10 concerns.
As for the excuse by the Democratic leadrship that they haven't time to spare on defending and protecting the Constitution -- their highest duty -- because they have all kinds of other legislation to pass -- what rubbish. First, I'd like to believe that most of our representatives can walk and chew gum at the same time. Second, they are deluding themselves if they think they're going to pass anything of significance before the present administration is out of office, what with vetos, filibusters and signing statements that nullify anything the Dems manage to pass.
The Minion couldn't even spell Supreme Court without help.