Thoughts from
San Diego on Law, Politics, and Culture

 
Schumer makes me sick
By Tom Smith

Here is the profound respect for the truth and the Judiciary that the Senator from NY has. Here are liberal, minority and female judges who have worked with Judge Alito, but he doesn't want to hear that, so he just leaves. Senator Kennedy I understand. I imagine it is like what I feel like when I need a drink, only 1000 times worse. But what is Schumer's excuse? This is the first time in history circuit court colleagues have testified in this way, but no matter. It is all just a show anyway. Schumer and his co-conspirators really are a disgrace to their offices. I have no problem with liberals pushing Alito on what his views are on important issues, the role of the courts, the President's powers, and so on. These are important questions. But to spend most of a day trying to smear him by his remote association with the Princeton group, some of whose members were nutcases -- is there any Princeton group that does not have a few nutcases? -- and then just leave when there is actually some probative testimony to be heard, is really just disgraceful. And anyone who thinks the CAP business was more than just a pathetically incompetent attempt to smear one of the least smear-worthy members of the Judiciary is just being naive, or attempting not to offend the embarassing leadership of that part of the left concerned with judicial appointments. If the Federalist Society were acting like a bunch of asses, I would not hesitate to say so. Why can't professors on the left do the same? And I suppose anyone who has ever been a member of the Federalist Society is automatically unqualified for the bench? God knows I have heard some wacky things said at FedSoc meetings, a defense of the unconstitutionality of laws against poligamy comes to mind. There is a reason why guilt by association is considered a tactic beyond the pale, even in the rough game of politics.

In case you haven't noticed, the Democratic Party has reduced itself to a pathetic and disfunctional state. The best they can do is tell Bush to respect the privacy of people in the terrorist cell calling plan, and hurl around accusations of racist and homophobe the way only the most cretinous Birchers would throw around "communist." I cannot help but think most Democrats would be embarassed and ashamed by Kennedy's and Schumer's antics, if they bothered to inform themselves, and who can blame them for not doing so. Most people know intuitively that it is very wrong to impugn a person's integrity and imply he harbors all sorts of morally disreputable motives on the basis of "evidence" the most feeble minded can see amounts to nothing. It's offensive. I mean, for heaven's sake, we are supposed to be so finely tuned that we can see why being "heteronormative" is offensive, but not see that calling a man financially dishonest, a bigot and a misogynist, on the off chance that some marginal political gain might be gotten out of it, is not just dandy? Is just politics? It is a risky business to underestimate the decency of the American people, and I really think the Democratic leadership has taken the wrong end of this bet. They would have been much better off taking the high road.
posted by thomas at 1/12/2006 03:24:00 PM