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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Daily Dose of Zaniness

Daily Dose of Zaniness

by John Cole|  June 18, 20052:17 pm| 6 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics

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This is pretty bizarre:

Hostettler has been concerned about a court case in his community called Russelburg v. Gibson County, which deals with a controversy surrounding a state-sponsored Ten Commandments display in front of the Gibson County Courthouse in Princeton, Indiana. Local citizens challenged the constitutionality of the local government promoting one faith’s holy text at the courthouse, and, as is usually the case, a federal judge agreed that the display is unconstitutional.

Hostettler, perhaps a little concerned about his re-election prospects, has latched onto the case. In February, he wrote a letter to the president, urging Bush, as head of the executive branch of government, to refuse to enforce the court order. The White House ignored the request.

So Hostettler, this week, took matters into his own hands and introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would “prohibit funds in the Act from being used to enforce the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in the case of Russelburg v. Gibson County.” In other words, Hostettler would prevent the federal judiciary from enforcing its own court order. Gibson County could refuse to comply with the law and the judge couldn’t send marshals to resolve the problem.

And as if that weren’t insane enough, Hostettler’s amendment passed, 242-182.

So now Congress is writing laws that forbids enforcement of court orders? Is this a first? Even the attorney who repesented the city, fighting to keep the display, thinks he is nuts:

U.S. Rep. John Hostettler’s attempt to defy a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a southern Indiana courthouse lawn has bewildered even those who want the monument to stay.

Gibson County officials have distanced themselves from Hostettler, saying there was never any intent to defy the federal court order, which could prompt U.S. marshals to descend on the city to remove it instead.

“We’re law-abiding people,” said Jerry Stilwell, the Princeton attorney who defended the county in a lawsuit seeking the monument’s removal. “Whether we like the ruling or not is irrelevant.”

Hostettler’s amendment, which passed though the House on Wednesday, would prohibit federal money from funding marshals in any effort to remove the monument. Hostettler sponsored a similar amendment regarding a Ten Commandments monument in Alabama in 2003 that passed the House but was rejected in the Senate.

Why not wait for the SCOUTS ruling:

Gibson County Attorney Jerry Stilwell says, “The judge in his order never ordered the U.S. Marshals to do anything.” Stilwell defended the county’s efforts to keep the monument in place and says the federal ruling made no mention of US Marshals. “He ordered Gibson County to remove the monument within 60 days of his order, and we initiated the appeal and that is stayed at this point, and we’ll wait for the final decision.”

The final decision now rests with the US Supreme Court, which is looking over two cases that could affect the fate of Gibson County’s monument. Stilwell tells us, “One’s a Kentucky case and one’s a Texas case and if, in other words, depending on what that decision is in those two cases by the United States Supreme Court, will depend on what happens here.” Stilwell says Gibson County residents are law abiding and will follow any judge’s ruling.

The whole thing is just weird.

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6Comments

  1. 1.

    brenda

    June 18, 2005 at 6:18 pm

    Doesn’t surprize me at all. These people are not like you John. They are not conservatives with whom you could have a nice intelligent debate. They are radicals in every sense of the word.

    When you believe that you have the Truth, you know, Plato’s “Truth” above the line. The absolute unquestionable truth. Then *anything* you do to promote it is justified. For them, the Bible is the inerrant word of God.

    Like one woman said to Dean “We don’t believe in the separation of church and state.”

  2. 2.

    jcricket

    June 18, 2005 at 7:18 pm

    This isn’t a surprise at all. I think Republicans are purposefully flouting the law or passing unconstitutional laws to “force” the issue. It gives them great “talking points” with the religious right to claim they pass laws and then the “godless activitist” judges over-turn them (screw the legality issue).

    They’re doing it with evolution.

    They did it with Terri Schiavo (well before the Federal mess Florida passed at least one, if not two laws that were overturned by the courts due to unconstitutionality).

    The attacks on the judiciary have been unceasing from the Republicans for the last 10-15 years. In fact, I would argue they’ve been getting worse (as you point out, see Tom Delay’s comments recently).

    And it’s precisely this callous disregard for the law and the constitution that cause us on the left to worry about Republicans imposing their theocracy on us.

    I don’t think it’s as far fetched as you think. Think about it, Jeb Bush was _this_ close to siezing Terri Schiavo in the middle of the night. Roy Moore was _this_ close to defying federal court orders with _mass_ agreement from Republicans and other far-rightists.

    Are you really so sure the tipping point is that far away as the rhetoric from Republicans keeps ratcheting up and up?

  3. 3.

    Kimmitt

    June 18, 2005 at 7:54 pm

    It’s not weird at all; it’s a repudiation of the Rule of Law.

  4. 4.

    Gary Farber

    June 18, 2005 at 9:18 pm

    “SCOUTS ruling”

    Supreme Court Of United Tacky States?

    Who?

  5. 5.

    Doug

    June 18, 2005 at 10:19 pm

    Look. If we have to tear up the Constitution so that a Cecile B. DeMille movie promotion can stay in front of the Gibson County Courthouse, well, so be it.

  6. 6.

    brenda

    June 19, 2005 at 10:39 am

    But were they *really* that close to grabbing Terri in the night? I’m not so sure. I think these people are cynics and that they deliberately manipulate the evangelical majority that helped them get in office. But I bet that secretly they despise them.

    I don’t believe they are conservative or anything in particular at all. They are political shapeshifters who assume any form that will get them elected. Their only motive is to aquire power, by any means.

    There are a few neo-cons out there, but people like DeLay? No integrity, just a constant push for power.

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