SUPREME COURT JUSTICE JOHN G. ROBERTS?
Your uterus is in my hands.
By nominating D.C. Circuit Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to replace Justice O'Connor, President Bush is sending the message that his highest priority is to kiss up to his hardline reactionary zealots base with the same passion that the rest of us Americans are invited to kiss his inner cheeks.
Well-connected to the GOP and right-wing organizations, Roberts, who has only been a judge for two years, has the conservative credentials to make Pat Robertson and the Klan proud.
Judge Roberts is a strict constructionist, evidenced by his membership in the Federalist Society, which includes such petrifying people like Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, Ann Coulter, Ken Starr, Robert Bork, Linda Chavez, Orrin Hatch, and John Ashcroft.
While working as White House counsel and a former deputy solicitor (for Ken Starr!), Roberts advocated a hard-line anti-civil rights policy that opposed affirmative action. He also would have made it nearly impossible for people of color to prove a violation of the Voting Rights Act and would have essentially (further) resegregated public schools. The jury is still out on whether he finds slavery unconstitutional.
A practicing Catholic, Roberts also has taken super-anti-choice positions in two Supreme Court cases, one that severely restricted the ability of poor women to gain information about abortion services, and another that took away a key means for women to access clinics and combat anti-abortion nutbags.
As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts argued in a brief before the Supreme Court that "we continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled. The Court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion...finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution."
He also has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Operation Rescue and individuals who routinely blocked access to clinics. The brief argued that the protesters' behavior did not discriminate against women and that blockades and clinic protests were protected speech under the First Amendment.
He has also taken positions in legal publications or briefs arguing:
- that more religion in public schools does not violate the Establishment Clause
- that anti-flag burning laws do not conflict with the First Amendment
- that environmental lawsuits should be limited
- that criminal defendants' rights can be crippled
As I surf between the evening news shows, the pundits keep emphasizing that Roberts' professional positions as an advocate may not reflect his personal views, but all signs suggest that Roberts is a flaming good ol' boy reactionary.
If you've been waiting to pick and choose your battles, this is the one to pick. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, your comrades have been waiting 11 years to see the Court lean your way.
As a young 50 year old (I think Justice Stevens is 85) with lifetime tenure on the highest court in the land, John Roberts will affect our rights long after Bush leaves office and perhaps long after he's reinstalled the feeding tubes to our decrepit comatose bodies.
For the sake of our children and the future of this country, it's on, W. (And don't think you're going to distract me from the fact that Karl Rove lied to the FBI!)
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Breaking news: Bush chose his nominee by considering their exercise habits! One of the candidates he didn't pick apparently failed to do his doctor-recommended cross-training. Your honor, how much can you bench?
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