11 May 2010

Who are the real radical activist judges?

President Obama has selected Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

And the right-wing mouthpieces have already begun their latest Chicken Little act in response, labeling the rather moderate Kagan a "radical" and an "activist". They would do the same no matter whom Obama selected. It's not about a fair and reasonable discussion of the issues, it's about using fear to score political points. You know, the usual.

Their panic is so ironic when you consider the kind of radical judicial activism that marked the recent ruling giving corporations the unlimited right to buy and sell elected officials.

That decision, which threatens the very core of our democracy, came from the conservative side of the Supreme Court. Where was the right-wing outrage there?

Apparently, an opinion is "radical" and a judge is "activist" only if they don't agree wholeheartedly with the right-wing neocon agenda.

And that kind of expectation, I contend, is pretty radical in itself.

No comments:

Post a Comment