Watching the Republicans break their ankles trying to do an abrupt about-face and suddenly wax eloquent about their deep and abiding love of the federal courts in response to Obama’s recent statements on the health care reform case is bad enough, but the true idiocy is found in the repeated declaration that Obama is trying to “intimidate” the Supreme Court in the case.
Republican politicians have made that claim repeatedly. Ed Meese, of all people, has said it.
“I think he is trying to intimidate the court, or at least trying to in effect rile up the public against the court — if they should make a decision which is constitutional, and which is adverse to him,” declared Meese in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “I think that’s why he’s doing it.”
Seriously, from the people who threw a temper tantrum — and continue to throw one — over Roe v Wade? Who are still complaining about the Supreme Court taking prayer out of schools? Who are still freaking out over the rulings on flag burning and state sodomy laws? The people who have actually submitted bills to strip the court of jurisdiction to hear church/state cases? The people who have openly fantasized, as Newt Gingrich did during the campaign, about Congress being able to haul justices before the court to demand explanations for rulings they don’t like, and even send federal marshals to arrest judges to force them to testify?
Anyone remember Tom DeLay? When federal judges refused to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, he threw a fit and said, “Judges need to be intimidated … we’re going to go after them big time.”
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joeeggen
April 13, 2012 at 11:44 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
What’s even MORE depressing/infuriating than the blatant hypocrisy coming from the Republicans on this issue is the fact that, as blatant and transparent as it is, it won’t stop more than a handful of people (single digits) from voting Republican in November. Even that might be optimistic.
Chiroptera
April 13, 2012 at 11:47 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Poor Scalia. You can imagine how he must be feeling the pressure from all this initimidation and how it must be affecting his rulings.
Skip White
April 13, 2012 at 11:48 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Judges are only activist judges who hate America and the Constitution if they fail to agree with Republicans 100% of the time.
reasonbeing
April 13, 2012 at 12:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The hypocrisy is ridiculous, yet not surprising. More ridiculous is the idea the Obama could bully the court. More ridiculous than that is the fact that millions of people will now believe that Obama is bullying the court…it never ends. The credulous just get in line and follow whatever their television channel of choice tells them…
John Hinkle
April 13, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jeez, why can’t the repubs lay off already? Didn’t some judge in Texas already punish Obama by making him write 3 pages, single spaced, “I will not intimidate Supreme Court judges.”?
What more do they want? To make him stay after school?
d cwilson
April 13, 2012 at 2:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’d love to hear a wingnut explain how Obama can “intimidate” nine people with guaranteed lifetime jobs.
D. C. Sessions
April 13, 2012 at 2:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Drones.