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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Great wingnut headlines

Great wingnut headlines

by DougJ|  June 30, 200911:09 am| 59 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Stuart Taylor ups the ante on the “nine-zip” meme with his headline:

Justices Reject Sotomayor Position 9-0 — But Bigger Battles Loom

To give you an idea of how crazy this “nine-zip” stuff is, George Will, of all people, describes the decision as depressingly narrow.

A few questions about Stuart Taylor:

(1) Why does the National Journal — a publication I have great respect for in general — publish his crap?

(2) Why is his blog called “The Ninth Justice”? Don’t we already have nine justices? Shouldn’t it be called “The Tenth Justice”?

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59Comments

  1. 1.

    GambitRF

    June 30, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Ginsberg doesn’t count

  2. 2.

    cleek

    June 30, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Why does the National Journal—a publication I have great respect for in general—publish his crap?

    the bigger question is: how you can respect a publication which you know publishes crap ?

    to do so is to commit treason against reason.

  3. 3.

    DougJ

    June 30, 2009 at 11:41 am

    to do so is to commit treason against reason.

    Ha!

    Seriously, though, the Ron Brownstein column there is the best political column anywhere.

  4. 4.

    KevinNYC

    June 30, 2009 at 11:42 am

    I was going to dump on Taylor that this proves his bias, however, perhaps he didn’t write the headline. He doesn’t say 9-0 explicitly in the column.

  5. 5.

    JDM

    June 30, 2009 at 11:48 am

    But when do we hear from Jeff Rosen?

  6. 6.

    MattF

    June 30, 2009 at 11:52 am

    Maybe I’m thinking of a different guy… but wasn’t Taylor at least sort-of-rational, once upon a time? I think there’s a ‘stages of wingnut evolution’ schema with lots of branches and loops– some leading back to reality, some not.

  7. 7.

    Allan

    June 30, 2009 at 11:56 am

    If I get out of moderation over there, I pointed out how we owe Stu a debt of gratitude for teaching us all how to parrot Rush Limbaugh talking points while sounding somewhat credible.

    Barack Obama’s election was unanimous! Granted, 40 something percent of voters expressed their support for Obama by voting for McCain, but they were clearly sending a message to Obama that if he failed to deliver on his agenda, they were willing to vote for the Republican in 2012.

  8. 8.

    Xanthippas

    June 30, 2009 at 11:57 am

    I guess they think the Supreme Court is like the Super Bowl. Even if you win by one point, you still “totally” win the game.

  9. 9.

    bayville

    June 30, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Literary gymnastics starring Stuart Taylor.
    Headline:

    Justices Reject Sotomayor Position 9-0 — But Bigger Battles Loom

    Lede:

    The Supreme Court’s predictable 5-4 vote to reverse the decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor and two federal appeals court colleagues against 17 white (and one Hispanic) plaintiffs in the now-famous New Haven, Conn., firefighters decision does not by itself prove that the Sotomayor position was unreasonable.

    (my italics)

    Prediction?

    This position is so hard to defend, in my view, that I hazarded a prediction in my June 13 column: “Whichever way the Supreme Court rules in the case later this month, I will be surprised if a single justice explicitly approves the specific, quota-friendly logic of the Sotomayor-endorsed… opinion” by U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton.

    (my italics)

    Obligatory MLK quote misapplied:

    The broader questions lying behind the New Haven case are whether this nation will ever get beyond racial preferences and quotas such as those encouraged by both the Sotomayor and the Ginsburg positions, and whether it will ever realize Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a nation where people are judged not by the color of their skins, but by the content of their characters.

  10. 10.

    jacy

    June 30, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Using reality-based math just gives away what an elitist you are.

    Why let a little counting get in the way of a perfectly factless meme?

  11. 11.

    asiangrrlMN

    June 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    OT: For anyone caught in the faux Jeff Goldblum is dead story, check out the second video from the left in the “All New Video” section. It has Jeff reading his own obit. It’s hilarious!

    http://www.colbertnation.com/home

  12. 12.

    kay

    June 30, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    It’s so disgusting, this glee at their stupid, trumped-up “win” over Sotomayor.
    Christ. Talk about pathetic, and completely classless. If they’re crowing about this, it’s probably an indication that the win/loss record isn’t stellar.
    I noticed after Bush v Gore that conservative lawyers were graceless, ungenerous crowing winners. Turns out, they’re also bitter and vindictive losers.
    Enjoy the 24 hour media win, boys. You know in your hearts it’s hollow.

  13. 13.

    Mike G

    June 30, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    Why does the National Journal—a publication I have great respect for in general—publish his crap?

    Why would you have any respect for the Repig propaganda rag that every few years conveniently produces a ‘survey’ showing that whoever the Dem presidential candidate is, is the “most liberal in the Senate”.

    In 2004, Kerry was “the most liberal senator”. During the 2008 Dem primary season, Hillary was “the most liberal senator”. Once Obama took the nomination, Obama was suddenly “the most liberal senator”. Funny how several other surveys showed him as 40th or so on the liberal scale.

  14. 14.

    Face

    June 30, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Don’t we already have nine justices?

    Broads dont count, unless it’s for cooking, cleaning and sex purposes.

    So unless Ginsberg is teabagging Scalia, they count 8.

  15. 15.

    eric

    June 30, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Sanhedrin acquits Christ.

    eric

  16. 16.

    gbear

    June 30, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Can I offer up a great non-wingnut headline via Steve M. at No More Mr. Nice Blog?

    CHENEY WARNS OF DIRE CONSEQUENCES. AMERICA OFFERS CHENEY QUARTER, ASKS HIM TO PHONE SOMEONE WHO CARES.

  17. 17.

    chopper

    June 30, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    This position is so hard to defend, in my view, that I hazarded a prediction in my June 13 column: “Whichever way the Supreme Court rules in the case later this month, I will be surprised if a single justice explicitly approves the specific, quota-friendly logic of the Sotomayor-endorsed established-law-and-Supreme-Court-precedent-based… opinion” by U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton.

    fixed. seriously, does anybody in the pundit/blogger class understand anything about the way the court system operates? why am i asking questions to which i already know the answer?

  18. 18.

    chopper

    June 30, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    @Face:

    So unless Ginsberg is teabagging Scalia, they count 8.

    that’s going to replace the shark in my nightmares.

  19. 19.

    The Moar You Know

    June 30, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Why is his blog called “The Ninth Justice”?

    Because he’s a dick.

  20. 20.

    SpotWeld

    June 30, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    Why is his blog called “The Ninth Justice”?

    Maybe he’s a closest Whovian and that’s the name of his fan character?

  21. 21.

    John PM

    June 30, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    So unless Ginsberg is teabagging Scalia, they count 8.

    I believe that is Thomas’ job.

  22. 22.

    kay

    June 30, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Nothing but class, on the right. Any imagined endorsement of their pet theories is cause for breaking out the champagne, and demeaning the ever-expanding ranks of the “opposition”.
    You showed her. You betcha.

  23. 23.

    Martin

    June 30, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Damn liberal media with their 9-zip bullshit, spinning in favor of the racist chica. The true decision was effectively 17-zip and I only an idiot needs to be explained why.

  24. 24.

    sugarbiscuit

    June 30, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    It’s called the Ninth Justice because it is apparently (from the subheading “News and Analysis to Fill the Supreme Court”) dedicated to covering SCOTUS nominees. I don’t know if this column gets moth-balled between nominations or whatever, but clearly there is a rational basis for calling it the 9th Justice.

  25. 25.

    LD50

    June 30, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    I think they should just go full metal wingnut and claim the decision was 12-0. Hell, 25-0!

    I mean, why not?

  26. 26.

    gnomedad

    June 30, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    @bayville:

    where people are judged not by the color of their skins, but by the content kerning of their characters.

    Fixed.

  27. 27.

    Punchy

    June 30, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    OT:

    I want to know if Cole is still feeling that he was being “genuine” after seeing this.

    Family valuz, bitch3s.

  28. 28.

    MikeJ

    June 30, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Apparently there were five meetings in the last year, including “two multi-night stays” in New York. That’s the first time he’s admitted to trysts on U.S. soil.

    On US soil? Geez, get a room.

  29. 29.

    gnomedad

    June 30, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    @Punchy:
    There is no cannibalism in the Royal Navy. And by that I mean there is a certain amount.

  30. 30.

    scav

    June 30, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    Hey, it’s not like King David ditched Bathsheba or anything.

  31. 31.

    RememberNovember

    June 30, 2009 at 12:33 pm

    they have it wrong, it was OVER 9000 to zero…..

    it’s like trade chat in Wow or other mmo’s…rampant stupidity and ejaculatory incuriousity.

  32. 32.

    DougJ

    June 30, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    There is no cannibalism in the Royal Navy.

    Don’t talk to me about naval traditions. It’s all rum, sodomy, and the lash.

  33. 33.

    anonevent

    June 30, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    I think it’s time we impeached Alito, then. Not only was he overruled four times by the person he replaced, but O’Connor even rebuked him directly. Clearly this shows that he is unfit to be a justice.

  34. 34.

    Dennis-SGMM

    June 30, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    There have been a total of 110 Supreme Court Justices. So, it should be 110-0 because we all know that they would have all voted to overturn Sotomayor.

  35. 35.

    The Moar You Know

    June 30, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    So unless Ginsberg is teabagging Scalia

    @Face: Jesus Christ, I think I need to go home and hide under the covers after reading that.

  36. 36.

    PGE

    June 30, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    Wingulary Update:
    Digby has a link to Special Ed at Hot Air saying the coup in Honduras is more of a “military impeachment”. Wow. Just wow.

  37. 37.

    Sinister eyebrow

    June 30, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    9th Justice = the tiebreaker on an otherwise evenly divided Court, i.e. the deciding vote.

    So, not nearly as clever or amusing as I bet was originally intended.

  38. 38.

    Allan

    June 30, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    @Dennis-SGMM: FTW

  39. 39.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    June 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    @Punchy:

    Okay so Sanford originally said four times, now it’s up to seven…. if he just adds two more, does that make it “nine-zips”?

  40. 40.

    Zifnab

    June 30, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    @Sinister eyebrow:

    9th Justice = the tiebreaker on an otherwise evenly divided Court, i.e. the deciding vote.

    Isn’t the ninth justice Kennedy? And Sotomayor is replacing Souter. It’s a silly argument because the balance of the court has leaned right for over a decade now, and this really won’t change a thing. Should Thomas or Kennedy bite it, perhaps we’ll see a more intense debate. But it’s hard to see the GOP caring about a liberal justice being replaced by another liberal justice, except to score cheap political points. :-p

  41. 41.

    Cat Lady

    June 30, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    DougJ, can you just please start another Sanford thread? We’re going that way anyway.

    Oh, and gnomedad FTW.

  42. 42.

    KG

    June 30, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    @17: if they ever took the time to understand how the legal system worked, they wouldn’t be able to spin legal decisions into political issues. And it would mean that they’d have to read a shit ton of precedent just to have a basic understanding of what is going on in that one particular case. Because it’s not like the trial attorneys didn’t live with these cases for a year or three, and the attorney at the court of appeal didn’t live with it for another year, and the attorneys at the Supreme Court didn’t live with it for another year. No, it happens just like it does on Boston Legal, you’re in and out of court in 30 minutes, and you just go in and make shit up.

    (side note: as an attorney, there are some days when I really wish the practice of law was more like Boston Legal)

  43. 43.

    KG

    June 30, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    @39: yeah, and Stevens (age 89) is the most likely next to go (of course, they’ve been saying that about him since Clinton’s second term). Then I would put money on Ginsburg (76), Scalia (73), and Kennedy (72) as looking to move on. But then again, Ginsburg and Scalia seem to truly enjoy their jobs. The amazing thing is that Thomas is only 61, so he could be on the Court for a long time still to come.

  44. 44.

    steve s

    June 30, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    @cleek: BTW Cleek, thanks for your script. Amazing how much Brick Oven Tard likes to talk about pie now. He’s really obsessed.

  45. 45.

    The Other Steve

    June 30, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    @PGE: “Digby has a link to Special Ed at Hot Air saying the coup in Honduras is more of a “military impeachment”. Wow. Just wow.”

    He backtracks though and admits it is a Coup.

  46. 46.

    ricky

    June 30, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    I guess they think the Supreme Court is like the Super Bowl. Even if you win by one point, you still “totally” win the game.

    Given eight years of Bush, they “totally” do.

  47. 47.

    chopper

    June 30, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    @gnomedad:

    yours etc., captain b.j. smethwick in a white wine sauce with shallots, mushrooms and garlic.

  48. 48.

    Ash Can

    June 30, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    @Xanthippas:

    Even if you win by one point, you still “totally” win the game.

    Five to four is a screaming line drive in the box score.

  49. 49.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    June 30, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    And here come the supremes…. he’s good enough, he’s smart enough, he’s…..

    Minnesota Supremes rule unanimously for Al Franken.

    For all of the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. 32 Stat. § 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota.

    http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/06/court_rules_for_franken.php?ref=fpblg

  50. 50.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    June 30, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Minnesota Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Al Franken!

    “For all of the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. 32 Stat. § 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota.”

    Hooray for Al!

  51. 51.

    jwb

    June 30, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    OT, but MN Court just ruled unanimously for Franken.

  52. 52.

    bago

    June 30, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    I think I heard something about a Franken. Is General Mills on the case?

  53. 53.

    canuckistani

    June 30, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    So the Senate is tainted forever by the presence of an actor, right?

  54. 54.

    JK

    June 30, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Stuart Taylor was negotiating for a job in Ken Starr’s office while appearing on television and in print to offer supposedly neutral assessments of Starr’s investigation.

    h/t http://mediamatters.org/blog/200905270016

    @asiangrrlMN:

    As usual, Colbert was brilliant. Thank God, Jeff Goldblum is still alive.

  55. 55.

    JK

    June 30, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: @jwb:

    In the word of Roger Daltry, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY

    Will this scumbag Coleman finally concede or will he take his case to SCOTUS?

  56. 56.

    chopper

    June 30, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    breaking news! … oh, bugger.

  57. 57.

    Al Swearengen

    June 30, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1428.pdf

    Bottom of page 4:
    “KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C.J., and SCALIA, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., joined. SCALIA, J., filed a concurring opinion. ALITO, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which SCALIA and THOMAS, JJ., joined. GINSBURG, J., filed a dissenting opin-ion, in which STEVENS, SOUTER, and BREYER, JJ., joined.”

    Looks like 5-4 on the important point, the OPINION. These dumb, sick fucks will ignore the meaning of opinion for partisan points.

  58. 58.

    Screamin' Demon

    July 1, 2009 at 11:05 am

    Why is his blog called “The Ninth Justice”?

    Because he received an “Epic Fail” on his report card in first grade arithmetic.

Comments are closed.

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  1. Senator Al Franken, Bitchez! | The World According to MEH says:
    July 1, 2009 at 12:31 am

    […] pretty hard to say you were jobbed when the ruling was unanimous (truly unanimous.  Not a 5-4 morphing into 9-0 kind of […]

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