Who are the Enemies of John G. Roberts?
By Leon H Wolf Posted in The Courts — Comments (15) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
First of all, let me just offer a big THANK YOU to Erick for all his hard work on following this story, which has been incredibly draining on him and his time. He's kept us appraised well ahead of the curve.
Now, one of the complaints that is sure to come up in regards to John G. Roberts is that he has very little paper trail that would commend a belief in him as a solid conservative. Indeed, when I went searching today for material on Google, I found very little written by Roberts or his supporters concerning his positions.
However, I found quite a few pieces written by his enemies, and they paint the most telling picture of all. Who are the enemies of John G. Roberts? Find out below the fold:
UPDATE: Harry Reid said earlier today that John Roberts had "suitable legal credentials," but I don't see why we ought to hold that against Roberts.
UPDATE: Apparently, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is going ballistic on television right now (we hope to have a transcript soon), claiming that the Democrats are going to fight Roberts tooth and nail over Roberts. The good news on Roberts keeps piling up. Schumer is also claiming that he voted against Roberts's confirmation to the DC Circuit, which is weird, being that Roberts was confirmed by unanimous consent. Apparently, the President of the Senate thinks as little of Schumer as we do.
For starters, the National Abortion Federation doesn't think too highly of him:
The National Abortion Federation Opposes the Nominations of John Roberts and Timothy Tymkovich to the United States Courts of Appeal
John G. Roberts is nominated to the DC Circuit of the Circuit Court of Appeals, widely perceived to be the most influential of the appellate courts and a stepping-stone to the United States Supreme Court. As an attorney in the Justice Departments of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Roberts repeatedly argued for the reversal of Roe v. Wade stating that there was "no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution" for the reasoning behind Roe. NAF believes that the appointment of Roberts will weaken the protections of Roe and its progeny. Numerous cases impacting the accessibility of abortion could come before this circuit, including administrative decisions such as the availability of mifepristone (RU-486).
We'll follow that up with a nice, round denunciation by the Alliance for Justice:
John G. Roberts, nominated by President Bush to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, has a record of hostility to the rights of women and minorities. He has also taken controversial positions in favor of weakening the separation of church and state and limiting the role of federal courts in protecting the environment. The Alliance for Justice opposes his nomination to the D.C. Circuit.
The best part of the Alliance for Justice "report" is this:
While working under Presidents Reagan and Bush, Mr. Roberts supported a hard-line, anti-civil rights policy that opposed affirmative action, would have made it nearly
impossible for minorities to prove a violation of the Voting Rights Act and would have “resegregated” America’s public schools.
When a highly esteemed institution such as the Alliance for Justice feels the need to pull out such a hysterical smear, the chances are, you're dealing with a quality nominee.
Not surprisingly, everyone's favorite reasonable liberal doesn't think too highly of him either:
As noted on Law.com Many who know Roberts say he, unlike Souter, is a reliable conservative who can be counted on to undermine if not immediately overturn liberal landmarks like abortion rights and affirmative action. Indicators of his true stripes cited by friends include: clerking for Rehnquist, membership in the Federalist Society, laboring in the Ronald Reagan White House counsel's office and at the Justice Department into the Bush years, working with Kenneth Starr among others, and even his lunchtime conversations at Hogan & Hartson. "He is as conservative as you can get," one friend puts it. In short, Roberts may combine the stealth appeal of Souter with the unwavering ideology of Scalia and Thomas.
Roberts also won't be invited to any house-parties hosted by NOW any time soon, either, and Planned Parenthood probably doesn't have him on the mailing list.
The Volokh Conspiracy also has a complete list of the organizations who opposed his confirmation to the DC Circuit, and it's a veritable who's who of moonbattery:
- Alliance for Justice
- Americans for Democratic Action
- Feminist Majority
- Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
- NARAL Pro-Choice America
- National Family Planning and Reproductive
- Health Association
- National Council of Jewish Women
- National Organization for Women
- NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
NARAL opposed him before his nomination was even official. Grand.
From a cursory list of the man's most stringent enemies, it appears that Roberts is a man worth fighting for. I should also point out that among the man's friends are the Feminists for Life, which happen to be run by his wife, who was the Executive Vice President of the organization. There is also a brief floating around, which I am trying to get my hands on, signed by dozens of prominent members of the DC legal community (including numerous Clinton staffers) supporting his nomination to the DC Circuit. We'll try to do a better "Who are the Friends of John Roberts" post, later, as those friends gradually make their presence known.
For me, it's enough to know that anyone who can make the above mentioned groups that angry is probably going to make me very happy over the next several years. I'm throwing my support behind Roberts, and I'm relieved to say it will stay behind the President for this excellent pick.
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Who are the Enemies of John G. Roberts? 15 Comments (0 topical, 15 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy Teddy, and Dick Durbin. They all opposed Roberts in committee when he was up for the DC court. I look for them to scream like stuck pigs over this nomination.
and then delete this post. Thanks.
Schumer has basically indicated, almost expressly, that they will go for the Bolton route - if Roberts doesn't answer all of the questions they want answered, they will raise bloody hell about how the nominee is stonewalling and say this is justification for blocking him.
Chuckie has already started his demonization right on Fox.
"I voted against him blah, blah, blah..."
Let the games begin.
Schumer voted against Roberts in committee (along with Durbin and Kennedy). Apparently none of them voted when it came to the floor.
As I said over on ConfirmThem, it looks to me like there's probably only about 30 votes against Roberts (mostly the Schumer/Boxer/Durbin/Kennedy axis).
Dems won't be able to Filibuster, Gang of 14(+ on this one!) will hold, and Roberts will be in by mid-September.
Politically, this is a "confirmable" pick.
The Dems have nothing. They know it. They won't even be able to "Bolton" him.
I think this is all over but the votin'.
one, only because Ginsberg refused to answer a lot of questions and in the end was overwelmingly confirmed.
I think Roberts should peruse Schumer's questions and then feed him patsy answers-for instance Schumer's three decisions he though were bad-go for Plessy, Dred or some other ancient case that nobody is going to drag up. He can say "hey I answered your question" without spilling the beans. Schumer might get all redfaced and rabid, but what really is Chuckie going to say?
I believe Alliance for Justice also had this to say earlier about other Bush nominees, past, present and future:
Insert_Nominee_Here, nominated by President Bush to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals/Supreme Court for the Insert_Court_Nominated_For, has a record of hostility to the rights of women and minorities. He/she has also taken controversial positions in favor of weakening the separation of church and state and limiting the role of federal courts in protecting the environment. The Alliance for Justice opposes his/her nomination to the D.C. Circuit.
I predict a bloody battle that is exhausting for the faithful and tedious to the yeah-I-voted-for-Kerry-but-can't-you-guys-please-give-it-a-break? types. Should be motivating for the Republican base as, even if we are sometimes disappointed with our Republican politicians, the Democrats continually offer so much to vote against we just can't sit one out.
to DC by a voice vote, so there isn't a record of the floor "no" votes, but from what they said the dems were going to split on the vote.
It is also important to note that they couldn't successfully fillibuster him back when they were fillibustering other justices. There are obviously some dems who respect him, and I think those dems will be there this go around as well.
I am not surprised, those are generally the usual suspects.
NARAL is going to hate almost any justice Bush puts forth for any court.
Cuckie, Teddy and Dickie all voted no in the committee.
Roberts was confirmed on the floor by a voice vote.
Rumor was that the dems were going to split, so they went for the voice vote.
It is telling that they couldn't mount a fillibuster against him, when they were fillibustering other justice nominees.
He actually said in his inane comments on CSPAN-2 that the Supreme Court "makes law!"
No, Chuckie, that's the Legislature's job. Please re-read Articles I and III c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y.
I should also point out that among the man's friends are the Feminists for Life, which happen to be run by his wife, who was the Executive Vice President of the organization.
If you have a minute, would you be able to direct me to anything written by/about her in connection with Feminists for Life? My internet detective skills need a little work, apparently...thanks very much.
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