Not Quite Dead Yet
Much has been made of the weakening of George W. Bush, with the Katrina debacle, the ongoing problems in Iraq, the Harriet Miers nomination and withdrawal, and the Fitzgerald investigation, which led to the indictment and resignation of the VP's chief of staff.
But W. has shown that his political instincts are not completely gone. In an instant, he has changed the topic of conversation from the clearly unethical and unpatriotic acts of his administration to his new nominee. Uncontent to replace Miers with your average Roe-v-Wade-overturning right-wing-acceptable judge, he's cleverly picked a nominee so heinous that the shock and rage any resonable person feels upon learning about him will wipe out any thoughts of Plamegate.
Judge Alito is not just anti-abortion, he seems strongly among the extremists who favor the good old days of white male dominance. As an Appeals Court judge, his decisions have been to the right of the Rehnquist court.
But what makes him such a perfect political choice is that he's on record as being so boldly on the wrong side of so many different issues that he can't help but draw empassioned opposition from Democrats, and distract moderates from the egregious sins of the White House staff. Think Progress has a summary, and Rox Populi a short list of links for further reading.
He's decided in favor of requiring that women notify their husbands before getting an abortion. (Overturned by the Supreme Court.) In a dissenting opinion in a racial discrimination case, his position was such that, according to the majority, he would have "eviscerated" Title VII, since conscious racial bias wouldn't have kept an employer from deciding that a black woman wasn't the "best" for the job. In a dissenting opinion in a disability rights case, the majority said his position would set a standard that would result in almost all such cases failing to pass summary judgment. He's approved of strip searches of people without them being named in a warrant. He's shown his own brand of judicial activism in immigration cases, where, in one case, the majority said he ignored "well-recognized rules of statutory construction." And last, but not least, he's been overturned again when he decided that Congress had no power to pass the Family Medical Leave Act. (Darling of the Left Rehnquist wrote the opinion in that one, which gives a feel for just how far out in right field Alito is.)
You can hear the sound of blood beginning to boil, can't you? And, if Alito's record weren't enough, W. cranked up the distract-o-beam past 'blood-boiling insult' to 'national iconic disgrace' by arranging to wave his new red flag past the body of Rosa Parks, lying in state at the Capitol. (Though having him escorted by Bill Frist might have been a slight error, since Frist might remind us that some people in power are still under investigation. But really, Rosa Parks?! After Bray v. Marriott Hotels? How dare they?)
The opposition to Alito should be strong, and continuous, and based on far more than the issue of abortion. His record is against civil rights for those who aren't white males, and his reasoning is extreme. Even Clinton-bashers can be found admitting that the Family Medical Leave Act was a good idea.
But, while cranking up the engines of opposition, and sending folks off to dilligently analyze Alito's record, let's not forget that a top-level White House staffer was just indicted of multiple counts of lying about the exposure of classified national security information for purely political reasons.
To paraphrase, 'It's the manipulation and lying, stupid.'
But W. has shown that his political instincts are not completely gone. In an instant, he has changed the topic of conversation from the clearly unethical and unpatriotic acts of his administration to his new nominee. Uncontent to replace Miers with your average Roe-v-Wade-overturning right-wing-acceptable judge, he's cleverly picked a nominee so heinous that the shock and rage any resonable person feels upon learning about him will wipe out any thoughts of Plamegate.
Judge Alito is not just anti-abortion, he seems strongly among the extremists who favor the good old days of white male dominance. As an Appeals Court judge, his decisions have been to the right of the Rehnquist court.
But what makes him such a perfect political choice is that he's on record as being so boldly on the wrong side of so many different issues that he can't help but draw empassioned opposition from Democrats, and distract moderates from the egregious sins of the White House staff. Think Progress has a summary, and Rox Populi a short list of links for further reading.
He's decided in favor of requiring that women notify their husbands before getting an abortion. (Overturned by the Supreme Court.) In a dissenting opinion in a racial discrimination case, his position was such that, according to the majority, he would have "eviscerated" Title VII, since conscious racial bias wouldn't have kept an employer from deciding that a black woman wasn't the "best" for the job. In a dissenting opinion in a disability rights case, the majority said his position would set a standard that would result in almost all such cases failing to pass summary judgment. He's approved of strip searches of people without them being named in a warrant. He's shown his own brand of judicial activism in immigration cases, where, in one case, the majority said he ignored "well-recognized rules of statutory construction." And last, but not least, he's been overturned again when he decided that Congress had no power to pass the Family Medical Leave Act. (Darling of the Left Rehnquist wrote the opinion in that one, which gives a feel for just how far out in right field Alito is.)
You can hear the sound of blood beginning to boil, can't you? And, if Alito's record weren't enough, W. cranked up the distract-o-beam past 'blood-boiling insult' to 'national iconic disgrace' by arranging to wave his new red flag past the body of Rosa Parks, lying in state at the Capitol. (Though having him escorted by Bill Frist might have been a slight error, since Frist might remind us that some people in power are still under investigation. But really, Rosa Parks?! After Bray v. Marriott Hotels? How dare they?)
The opposition to Alito should be strong, and continuous, and based on far more than the issue of abortion. His record is against civil rights for those who aren't white males, and his reasoning is extreme. Even Clinton-bashers can be found admitting that the Family Medical Leave Act was a good idea.
But, while cranking up the engines of opposition, and sending folks off to dilligently analyze Alito's record, let's not forget that a top-level White House staffer was just indicted of multiple counts of lying about the exposure of classified national security information for purely political reasons.
To paraphrase, 'It's the manipulation and lying, stupid.'
posted by Paul at 10:10 AM |
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