Mike Krempasky at Red State passes on a piece noting that the nomination of Judge Roberts is a promise kept by President Bush.
I would tend to agree.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.
The revolution will be supervised.
Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.
Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.
Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.
I really should read my own blog.
No one could have predicted…
How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.
In my day, never was longer.
Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.
Be a wild strawberry.
Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.
It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.
A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals
A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.
The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.
I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.
Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.
Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.
There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.
Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.
Fear or fury? The choice is ours.
Trent
For once, i actually appreciate David Brooks’ column today in the NYT.
The whole thing does come across as some big, pointless, PR charade.
Geek, Esq.
He won’t be as bad as Rehnquist, in terms of ideology, from a liberal perspective.
Lines
Sounds like there was a moment yesterday when Roberts conceded that his appointment might have been a ‘reward’ for his opinion on the torture memo’s and Bush’s defense.
Sounds unethical and shady, but lets find it out after he’s appointed, after all we wouldn’t want to vet out lifetime appointments ahead of time, right?
Otto Man
Of course this was a promise kept. George Bush is a straight-shooter, someone who shoots straight with you when he’s talking with you like he did with the straight-shooting talk about the judges. He’s a man who means what he says and says what he means.
At least that’s what he’s been telling me.
docG
A Supreme Court nominee that worries both the far right and the far left is probably a useful nominee. He appears to be a conservative choice with a real respect for the Supreme Court and the law. Judge Roberts conducts himself in the hearings with intelligence, knowledge, a firm sense of what he is doing, and with grace. We will see a more typical President Bush appointee for the remaining open seat, unless the Katerina aftermath is seen as so threatening to the presidential legacy that a Court fight over a loyal ideologue will be avoided.
Blue Neponset
The fact that Krempasky felt the need to reassure the conservative masses says a lot to me. I am not a lawyer so I don’t understand a lot of the Griswold this, Loving that stuff, but my impression from the Righty blogs I read is that Robert’s testimony is making some conservatives nervous.
To the broader issue, what exactly is Bush’s promise; to replace conservatives judges with conservative judges? A Roberts for Renquest swap doesn’t move the SCOTUS to the right any. If this is the price Bush must pay for Conservative support then you guys work cheap.
Maybe Bush will have the guts to nominate a ‘no question about it’ conservative next month.
ppGaz
Possibly. But I’d hedge any option that I buy on the basis of that notion.
Bush’s approval rating is pretty close to the bottom; it can’t get much lower with erosion of his knee-jerk base (the Darrell base, if you will …. people who would defend him if he appeared nude in the Rose Garden and pissed on Barney the Dinosaur).
Without the public behind him, one has to wonder how far into the emotional opposition he is likely to go with his next appointee. He is not running for office any more. He has no obligation to give the Dobsonites anything now. Republicans are worried about 2006 and Congress, as well they should be. Are they going to go all out to defend an inflammatory nominee, so that they can sail into an election year with 60% of voters basically fed up with them and their potatohead president?
Bottom line, I’d hesitate to make predictions right now. Bush and the GOP are in uncharted territory here.
ppGaz
errata:
change “much lower with erosion”
to “much lower WITHOUT erosion”
in my previous post.
M. Scott Eiland
(the Darrell base, if you will …. people who would defend him if he appeared nude in the Rose Garden and pissed on Barney the Dinosaur)
Well, I wouldn’t be down with the nude part, but the pissing on Barney part would be a worthy endeavor, though I’d recommend substituting napalm and automatic weapons fire.
ppGaz
Yes, yes, of course it would.
In case anyone wondered if I was exaggerating about Darrell, they needn’t wonder any further. I wasn’t.
Thanks for proving my point.
The right wing of the GOP is populated by genuinely crazy, dangerous people who both fear and hate the real world that they live in. Which is okay, it’s a free country …. unless of course those people get into a situation where they have power, and you ( like me ) happen to be a part of that real world that they hate and fear.
Then we’re fucked …. as we almost are now.
Krista
I agree with you there. The fact that he’s not entirely predictable means that he might be likely to actually judge cases on their individual merits, as opposed to how they fit into his worldview.
Not a good mental image, but it would still probably gain him a few new fans.
AWJ
I don’t think you have to be a wingnut to relish the thought of the Purple Entity getting napalmed.
ppGaz
Really? What do you have to be?
Just curious. I am not a fan of the furry character, nor am I particularly knowledgeable about the show that features him.
However, I am a little leery of people who have strong feelings about a stuffed animal one way or the other. Adults, I mean.
Children, we expect that from.
So what’s up with that?
Krista
If it was just a stuffed animal, it would be one thing. But ask any parent whose child wants to watch the same Barney movie over and over again, every single day, and wants to listen to the Barney CD in the car, and wants to watch the Barney television show everytime it’s on. I’ve seen some people look positively murderous when hearing that theme song.
ppGaz
Krista, you’re cool, but I have to torpedo you here.
These parents you refer to have total power and control over the extent to which the purple one enters their lives.
Yet they apparently refuse to exercise this control, and as you say, act as if slaves to the CD, held by its mystical power.
It isn’t Barney they hate, it’s themselves, obviously.
Sounds like they have a problem, alright, but it ain’t Barney.
Don
Way to over-examine people finding childish repetition irritating, buddy.
ppGaz
Umm hmm. Who is doing the repetition?
Who buys the CD?
You guys make Barney sound like some kind of living, demonic thing. It’s a fucking PRODUCT. Throw it away if you don’t like it, eh?
Trent
I couldn’t agree more
jobiuspublius
There go those silly meaningless words again. If we insist on binary thinking, could we at least use more bits? That the extreme ends of our public “discourse” are dissatisfied doesn’t mean much to me. There is always the middle and more than one dimension.
Follow the money. What has been Worst-POTUS-Ever’s major accomplisments? They are nearly all financial. Even that which he gave to the fundies. The office of faith based initiatives, or whatever the hell it is called, funnels money to the fundies. No? Iraq, Katrina, Highway bill are contract mills. Bankruptcy reform and increased public debt for credit card and banking industries. Tax policy, the examples go on … .
There is also the suspension of prevailing wage laws in Katrinas wake. Wages have stagnanted while profits and prices have increased. Profits have increased even during a recession.
Worst-POTUS-Ever has increased public spending and debt and reduced freedom. The list goes on.
Yet, I didn’t recognize anything in the questions aimed at Roberts or his answers that addressed those issues. And, Brooks didn’t mention those issues either. So, becoming part of the charade.
I suspect that a corpratist is the typical Worst-POTUS-Ever nominee. But, let’s keep thinking in 18-19th century european political binary so we can continue to miss everything else that is happening.
ppGaz
Thanks for mentioning that, I stepped over to read it.
I generally think that Brooks is an absolute ass and a rightwing whore, but I must say, this piece was truly funny.
This is SNL material. I hope they use it and pay him royalties.
Trent
The only other Brooks column that i liked was the one where lamented the role that power and influence had on acquiring seats to see the Nationals.
Poor Davey wasn’t able to get good tickets for he and his son because he didn’t have enough clout. Money wasn’t enough. Boo hoo!
Welcome to the other side, muthafucka!
Krista
Good luck with that. :) I’ll be over here with my fingers in my ears, as a legion of children shriek like pissed-off banshees.
If it’s not Barney, it’d be something else. Kids have an amazing ability — if they like something, they want to be exposed to it 24/7. And they’ll get attached to stuff a lot faster than you think. I’m sure a lot of parents thought that Barney, (or Pokemon, or whatever their kids are obsessed with) was harmless at first. Then, they realize that they’re hearing about it an awful lot. Then, they try to cut the kid back…and utter hell is unleashed. It’s a constant battle of wills. And when the child finally tires of the obsession…they just tend to move on to another one. And the process begins again.
But I’m glad you think I’m cool, ppGaz. And I DO agree that too many parents let their kids run the show. But, setting those limits and asserting authority is a hell of a lot easier in theory than in practice — and sometimes, you just have to pick your battles…’cause you’re too damned tired to fight that day about everything.
pfrets
I won’t bother with the quotes…just wanted to say that ppGaz has it right.
Don’t like a product your kid is overdosing on (as was appearant by one of the posters here), then get rid of it.
I put my money where my mouth is. I was tired of my kids doing MTV’s brand of reality shows (lets put 12 college-age kids together in a house and see if they fuck) and cancled my cable to ensure it wouldn’t be viewed in the house again.
On Roberts:
He really is a stealth candidate. Doesn’t have a lot of case law under him, and he’s got both sides nervous. That just may be a good thing. I can only hope that he believes in stare decisis, and judges future cases on their merits.
In terms of nomination processes, Roberts is getting it easy. The next one Shrub serves up will not get a free pass. (S)he had better be a middle-of-the-road moderate, or the nomination will go nowhere.
Trent
Good for you. Parenting isn’t a popularity contest.
ppGaz
That’s a good point, I think you are talking as a mom, while I have always been in the “dad” role. I get to be at the office all day. By the time dad gets home, the kid is tired of Barney, tired of mom, mom is tired of the kid and Barney and probably life in general, and I get to be the hero.
I think moms, in general, have the toughest assignment in our society, by far. If had to deal with being a mom with young kids all day every day …. well, honestly I am not sure that I could do it.
My hat is off to all moms everywhere.
jobiuspublius
Yes, precedent, but he did speak of precedent getting overturned via a chain reaction, so to speak. Meaning, a precedent can be overturned when the cases it rests on are overturned. This could erode progress.
The other issue he spoke of regarding precendent was the example of Miranda rights not being overturned because it had become integral to police departments across the country. That doesn’t sound like a progressive to me.
He’s a heartless non-progressive to say the least. Remember the french fry case. I keep telling people that winning the congress is more important than the presidancy. In my mind, Roberts nomination supports my view.
docG
Am considering responding to your point. What was it?
jobiuspublius
I wonder if Roberts would make a good mom.
ppGaz
I think he was describing Rehnquist’s position on the matter, not his own. He was using it as an illustration of a point, not saying that he himself would overturn Miranda or had disdain for Miranda.
jobiuspublius
Spock?
ppGaz
Scottie?
Andrei
Fuck that. I had to tolerate all the damn sappy songs when my daughter was 2-4 years old during the whole Barney fiasco. Sure I could have turned it off, but she really really really liked watching him.
That fucking purple dinosaur can bend over and let me shove a stick of dynamite so far up his butt he’ll know the meaning of “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family” from a whole new perspective.
And if that makes me a nutcase, then crown me the King.
ppGaz
Har. Not a nutcase. Just another victim of
HIT Entertainment Ltd:
HIT Entertainment
It’s the Corporations’ world. We just live in it!
You have been assimilated!
Krista
ppGaz – actually, I’m talking as an aunt. :)
But yeah, I’ve seen enough mothers in action, and have watched the kids myself often enough to know that when it comes to wearing people down…well, if the CIA was smart it’d hire a bunch of preschoolers to torment suspects prior to interrogation. By the time the kids were through with them, they’d be too tired to resist questioning.
DougJ
Big Roberts fan here. I wonder when the pro-lifers are going to realize that he isn’t going to overrule Roe v. Wade?
Krista
In regards to Roberts…the thing that I think is making a lot of people nervous is the fact that he’s so damned young. Not that it makes him unqualified. However, if he does turn out to be partisan (on either side), the country is going to be dealing with the consequences of that partisanship for what could be a very long time indeed.
ppGaz
True enough, but I think that irony and luck are on our side. Because ….
…what Roberts really is, is a good lawyer and a good judge. And those things transcend politics and partisanship, and this is a concept that the Potatoheads (Bush et al) really don’t understand.
Thus, if I am right and we are lucky, they are Hoist By Their Own Petard, and we get a good justice despite them.
YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Krista
Don’t you love it when people are hoisted by their own petard? I just really, really hope that you’re right, and that he is as good a lawyer/judge as you say. Not that it will affect me, seeing as I don’t live in the U.S., but I’m definitely concerned for everybody there. There just seems to be an awful strong effort to bring the U.S. back to the land of Ward and June. What a lot of people behind those efforts aren’t saying, or don’t realize, is that it’s easy to idealize the past, but that every era has had its dark underbelly and its own unique problems.
ppGaz
True again, but I think they outsmarted themselves and picked a man who cares about the court in just the ways that they don’t.
And by “cares about the court” I mean cares about the law, and settled law, and about reality, in just the ways that the potatoheads don’t get.
They want him to be Thomas. Well, here’s the thing: Nobody is Thomas. Thomas was a fluke. That a man that dumb could get on the Supreme Court was just a man-bites-dog story. That kind of lightning doesn’t strike twice in one political era. And Roberts is brilliant — the exact opposite of Thomas.
If I’m wrong, I’ll do the honorable thing and kill myself.
Eventually. When I’m absolutely sure, and all that.
Krista
ppGaz – I doubt you’ll be wrong. I’ve read enough of you to know that you know what the hell you’re talking about.
I returned to the land of Ward and June about 5 minutes ago. I looked at myself and realized that I was washing dishes while wearing pearls. It kind of freaked me out, frankly.
Harry Atkinson
Holy macaroni! The new Fox News Poll came out today, and Bush’s approval number there has fallen to 41%! Fox News? Don’t Roger Ailes and Karl Rove take naps together? How can this be?
Even worse, Bush’s approval ratings among Republicans fell from 90% to 81%, independents are down to 30%, and amongst the Democrats only 8% will confess to thinking the guy is anything but a turd in the swimming pool of national governance.
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169469,00.html
Narvy
Oh, here you are. OK, let’s get started.
And this is news because…?
I can’t find the website where they sell those crystal balls. While this is possible, the opposite is equally possible. My hope is that he is the reincarnation of Earl Warren.
Yes, and now he wants to roll up his sleeves and roll back the last 70 years of Progressivism. Supreme Court justices are the best instruments available.
True, but to assume that every good lawyer and good judge will continue to transcend politics on the SC is fallacious.
The crystal ball crack (no pun intended) applies here, too. We have no way of knowing whether he was giving Rehnquist what he wanted to hear (anticipating the Bush era) or he was pushing his own point of view. Unless he actually tells us. And then he could lie. And he won’t anyway.
And you’re sure of that because…? Oh, right, his commitment to stare decisis. The SC is bound by s.d. only by their consciences. I’m not sure that he wouldn’t vote to overturn Roe. (Unless, DougJ, this is one of your leg-pulls. It’s hard for me to detect them.)
That is so-o-o Fifties.
Narvy
I’m one of those people who can only read David Brooks with an air sickness bag handy, but this is absolutely brilliant.