Politics As Usual

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by sgtclub
I prefer to phrase it as "there is political support for it."

I'll agree that there seems to be political support among GOP congressmen (and perhaps the WH, we'll see).

If you're saying that Americans understand and care that Congress is about to rip out jurisdiction of most federal courts based on the chance that they might come to a decision that they might dislike, instead of on substantive expertise, then I don't. I think the GOP Congressional caucus is calculating that the American public doesn't understand what it means, or what its impacts are.

Do you see this as evil in some way?

Evil, no. Tactically shortsighted, monumentally stupid and disrespectful of many decades of tradition? Hell yeah.

Change the Rules of the Playground if you must, or the players on the playground if you can, but ripping away arguable constitutional claims and controversies from the view of the federal courts is no more than just pissing in the judicial sandbox. Not only does it prevent your rival playmate Jimmy from building his sandcastle, it ultimately fucks up the sandbox for everybody.

Do you REALLY want this to become one more political football for the parties to wrestle over? Do you REALLY want the federal courts to lose jurisdiction over issues that GOPers care about the next time Democrats control Congress?

If one believes that the judiciary has, in some areas (not the constitutionally required areas), thwarted the will of the people, what other choice is there?

[Sigh.] Pass a law. Failing that (or being told that your law is unconstitutional), amend the constitution. If you have the will of the people, you can accomplish that through these means. How many ways can I say this? What offends me is that their tactics are bush league.

I am supportive of the right of gays to marry. But there seems to be something unseemly of this being accomplished for the nation by 5 people sitting in Massachusetts.

And how will those liberal commie activist Mass. judges do so, exactly? As I've said before, DOMA has not been struck down, and it's not clear that it will be.

I cannot follow the logic of the posts on this board agonizing that somewhere hidden inside the labyrinth of liberal, sissified activist judges cleverly laid by mostly Republican administrations since 1969, there's one judge -- one apocalyptic hair trigger -- who will declare it unconstitutional. I have tremendous faith that it will be appealed to SCOTUS faster than ShapeShifter lost his virginity on the quad, and that they'll take the case. In the presumably short interim, the Republic will survive.

Gattigap