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T H U R S D A Y , A U G U S T 0 4 , 2 0 0 5Harry Reid On John Robertsby Michael in New York on
8/04/2005 08:06:00 AMHave you read "The New Yorker" profile of Senate MinorityLeader Harry Reid we linked to earlier? It's worth checking out.Here's the most important stuff: Reid's impressions of SupremeCourt nominee John Roberts. Reid compares him to Souter (hislips to God's ears!) and thinks Roberts was a non-controversialchoice Bush made because he felt in a weak position. Reidinsists they named a number of people that would have hadthe Dems jumping up and down in anger and Roberts wasn'tone of them.One thing [Reid] asked [Roberts] was how he felt aboutSupreme Court precedents -- in particular, on what groundsthey might be overturned. "Precedent is so important to mein the law," Reid told him.Roberts, Reid recalled, said, "'Oh, on the Supreme Courtyou can change precedent only if there's this and this,' andhe was rattling them off. I hope I didn't act surprised, butI'd never heard anything like that before." Roberts, in Reid'sview, left no doubt that he would be very reluctant tooverturn precedents. To do so, Roberts had said, the Courtwould first have to consider a series of objective criteria,two of which stood out: whether a precedent fosteredstability in the nation; and the extent to which society hadcome to rely on an earlier ruling, even a dubious one. "Ithought it would be more of a weaselly answer thanthat, but he said you have to meet all these standardsbefore you can change a precedent," Reid said.The more I read about Roberts, the less I'm convinced. Certainly, itseems unlikely he is the sort of broad, mainstream judge that mostAmericans want -- the average Joe wants to leave radicals toacademia and think tanks, not the highest court in the land. True,Roberts doesn't seem to espouse a truly fringe judicial philosophy likeBork, just one that is very, very, very far to the right. He's not strongon voting rights. Heck, Roberts thought the Reagan Administrationwas too moderate at times and NEVER thought it was tooconservative on any issue. Not one. (If you know of one, let usknow.)Roberts seems like a far right conservative who wants to pay unduedeference to the executive and legislative branch. Doesn't Robertsknow it's "checks and balances," not "whatever you say, Mr.President"?Still, Reid has spoken to him and quizzed him and gotten someanswers that reassure him. And as we posted, Roberts did pro bonowork that benefitted the gay rights cause. I sure hope Reid is right.
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8/04/2005 08:06:00 AMHave you read "The New Yorker" profile of Senate MinorityLeader Harry Reid we linked to earlier? It's worth checking out.Here's the most important stuff: Reid's impressions of SupremeCourt nominee John Roberts. Reid compares him to Souter (hislips to God's ears!) and thinks Roberts was a non-controversialchoice Bush made because he felt in a weak position. Reidinsists they named a number of people that would have hadthe Dems jumping up and down in anger and Roberts wasn'tone of them.One thing [Reid] asked [Roberts] was how he felt aboutSupreme Court precedents -- in particular, on what groundsthey might be overturned. "Precedent is so important to mein the law," Reid told him.Roberts, Reid recalled, said, "'Oh, on the Supreme Courtyou can change precedent only if there's this and this,' andhe was rattling them off. I hope I didn't act surprised, butI'd never heard anything like that before." Roberts, in Reid'sview, left no doubt that he would be very reluctant tooverturn precedents. To do so, Roberts had said, the Courtwould first have to consider a series of objective criteria,two of which stood out: whether a precedent fosteredstability in the nation; and the extent to which society hadcome to rely on an earlier ruling, even a dubious one. "Ithought it would be more of a weaselly answer thanthat, but he said you have to meet all these standardsbefore you can change a precedent," Reid said.The more I read about Roberts, the less I'm convinced. Certainly, itseems unlikely he is the sort of broad, mainstream judge that mostAmericans want -- the average Joe wants to leave radicals toacademia and think tanks, not the highest court in the land. True,Roberts doesn't seem to espouse a truly fringe judicial philosophy likeBork, just one that is very, very, very far to the right. He's not strongon voting rights. Heck, Roberts thought the Reagan Administrationwas too moderate at times and NEVER thought it was tooconservative on any issue. Not one. (If you know of one, let usknow.)Roberts seems like a far right conservative who wants to pay unduedeference to the executive and legislative branch. Doesn't Robertsknow it's "checks and balances," not "whatever you say, Mr.President"?Still, Reid has spoken to him and quizzed him and gotten someanswers that reassure him. And as we posted, Roberts did pro bonowork that benefitted the gay rights cause. I sure hope Reid is right.
HuffPost PoliticsMichael Shaw: Reading the Pictures: As If This PutsBirthers To Bedt - click for full size Seeing isbelieving? via RJ Eskow. Stewart escalates....26 minutes ago
FiredoglakeLate Late Night FDL: Holiday Road - LindsayBuckingham - Holiday Road. I'm not headed toWallyworld but I am on the road tonight, headeddown to the San Francisco Bay Area for themeetup this...1 hour ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Tonight's RescueRangers are noddem, Elise, jlms qkw, taylormattd,Shayera, and joyful with vcmvo2 editing.* Thediaries up for rescue are: - *Vikin...2 hours ago
Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Just a little something re the birtherthing. Open thread below...2 hours ago
EschatonLate Night - Go Electric.2 hours agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V
Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Harry ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/harry-reid-on-john-robert...
1 of 57/24/09 11:18 AM
Visit ourAMERICAblog TV site.see all 326 videos >I collect with
vodpod
Massive brawl in SouthKorean parliament
Mormons may havesecretly baptized
Medieval helpdesk withEnglish subtitles
The Taco Bell dog hasdied
In honor of SenatorDeMintAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Harry ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/harry-reid-on-john-robert...
2 of 57/24/09 11:18 AM
Walker ReportSimple Test ToDetermine If Conrad'sCo-ops Are Worthless2 hours agoEzra KleinTab Dump6 hours agoWonk RoomNewt Gingrich’s ‘JobsFirst’ Plan Puts TheWealthy AndCorporations First9 hours agoHealth BeatIf We’re Able to StopObama On This . . . . ItWill Break Him9 hours agoDaily DoseObama Talks HealthCare With Post's Hiatt10 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
Blog RSS
AMERICAblog TV RSS
Twitter RSSTwitter Feed
Get the blog by email:
Subscribe me!
Top AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Harry ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/harry-reid-on-john-robert...
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Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Harry ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/harry-reid-on-john-robert...
4 of 57/24/09 11:18 AM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Harry ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/08/harry-reid-on-john-robert...
5 of 57/24/09 11:18 AM