Notes From The Roberts Hearing

Posted on September 12, 2005

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee sat in hearings in the Russell Caucus Room to investigate the nomination of Judge John Roberts for the position of Chief Justice of the United States. The hearings were covered live on C-SPAN and C-Span3 as well as on C-SPAN.org via live streaming video.

I have agreed to keep an ear on the proceedings in order to bring you reports of them. I will be taking special note of ignorant and repetitive questioning. I expect Judge Roberts will be repeatedly questioned about his views on topics like abortion and a Constitutional Right to Privacy (which doesn’t exist). And I also expect the Judge to use a page out of the Ginsburg playbook and refuse to answer on questions that might come before the Court.

Stay tuned for updates.

Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Senator Arlen Spector stated that he believes that the nominee should not answer any question relating to how he would vote on a particular topic that may come before the court. He also stated that he has no intention to ask how he would vote on Roe v. Wade but if he believed that there is a Constitutional Right To Privacy.

Senator Spector also spend several minutes of his opening dealing with the Americans With Disabilities Act. On a personal note, so am I. It seems to me that everyone should be interested in this subject. Because nobody knows when it may happen to them.

Senator Spector also breached the subject of a possible term limit for Justices.

Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking member from the minority, started off with praise for Senator Spector’s leadership. He then pandered to the people of his state, minorities, and put a spin on the Preamble of the Constitution.

From his opening, Senator Leahy echoed some of the same concerns that we here at Stop The ACLU have. But I suspect that this will change rapidly.

Senator Hatch opened with a small tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist. Then went on to go over Judge Roberts’ record before the committee. Judge Roberts only had 2 hearings before the Committee and answered some 100 written questions when he was confirmed by the full Senate for his current postition.

He then he went on to give his observations on the process. And applauded the President for his choices of nominees who will not legislate from the bench and noted Roberts was one of those. And outlined the Ginsburg playbook. And called out a member on the Committee for saying the Ginsburg playbook was a myth (without naming him of course). And quoted Kennedy on this issue.

Then came the Drunk, err I mean Senator Kennedy. And I found it extremely difficult to sit though his moronic rantings. Like sitting in a bar next to a talkative moron who is so drunk that he doesn’t know up from down, Senator Kennedy ranted on equality (meaning minorities). I thought this issue was settled in 1964?!? Issues that are concerns for States and Congress, not the Supreme Court of the United States.

He followed his flashback into the 1960s with partisanism. He has shown his total lack of understanding of reality with his opening. If this guy ever sobers up and realizes that John is dead, he’ll need hospitalization. But I don’t think he is in any danger of that. Kennedy never met a Scotch bottle that he didn’t like. But, there I go again, editorializing.

I’ll return with another update when we get to Schummer “the idiot”. Wait one minute. Just wait 1 cotton picking minute.

Biden needs to be thrown out. This [censor] idiot is raising every liberal fear that has been in the news and has been bounced around the DU since Roberts was named to replaced O’Connor. Biden is so [censor] out of touch with reality, I think that he’s is in need of heavy medication and observation now. He is seeing the right through a distorted glasses.

Senator Biden even started to attack Judge Roberts’ record. Deleware should be ashamed of themselves for electing an idiot such as Biden. His opening was so full of partisan BS and distorted thoughts about his own record, how can he conceivably be on this Commitee? He really does need locked up in some mental institution. And given some healthy drugs because he has a serious problem.

Senator Lindsey Graham came to the real point quickly. The issue is whether the Democrats will allow a President who has been elected twice to full fill his promise to the American people to appoint Judges and Justices to the Supreme Court that is a Strict Constructionist and will uphold the Constitution and not legislate from the bench. Plain and simple.

He stated that their job as a Committee is to make sure of Judge Roberts is qualified for the postition that he has been nominated for. That too is plain.

And along comes Chucky. Now keep in mind that Hispanic Religious leaders in New York held a demonstration lastweek outside of Schummer’s office urging him to not obstruct the Roberts nomination.

As he was pandering to Judge Roberts’ record while his underlying tone was obstructionism. He used his opening to attack the President going back 4 years. Another sour grapes monolog from a Senator who is overtly incompetent. A Democrat who is still realing and claiming that the Supreme Court handed President Bush his first election. More hogwash varnished with just the right level of pandering. And of course, mixed with that smile that looks like it belongs on a cartoon drawing of a 19th Century Robber Baron. I don’t trust him, and neither should the American people.

This man has not forfitted the opportunity since Judge Roberts’ nomination to bad mouth and badger him publically. Opened a website to call for support to block the nomination and mixing it with a popup ad for donations to the DNC. This is wolf in sheep’s clothing. This man is someone who is a disgrace to New York, to the Senate, and has no place on this Committee.

And now it’s the Dick with the Turban, I mean Dick Durban’s turn. And is now on record as being for Judicial Activism. His story of Judge Johnson proves that. Not that we believe that Judge Johnson was a Judicial Activist, but Dick Durban embracing him because of that lable shows where his distorted thinking is.

And like his leftist buddies on the Committee, the Dick with the Turban decided to bring up Privacy. I have expanded upon this issue on my own blog. And just like his buddies, white-washing his poisonous words with just the right amount of pandering.

Senator Brownback reminds Judge Roberts and the Committee, that should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, that it does not make abortion illegal. It simply returns those decisions to the states. Very profound.

In the most of liberal of terms, abortion is a medical procedure. And no where in the Constitution does it mention the federal government’s ability to regulate medical procedures. And under the 10 Amendment because the power is not delegated to the federal government, or prohibited by it to the states, that power is reserved to the states. Roe v. Wade is the flood gate that opened wide spread Judicial Activism. But again, I’m editorializing.

The day’s proceedings concluded with a 6 1/2 minute opening by Judge Roberts himself. A very profound monolog of how he sees the rule of a Judge. Equating the role of a Judge to a baseball umpire. “I will call balls and strikes and not pitch or bat.”

I had tremendous respect for Judge Roberts before, but with his statement of humility and outlook on the Judicial role raised his stock in my mind.

I predict that Judge Roberts is going to shut down the ultra liberals on the Committee.

Hatch discusses the “Ginsburg rule” of answering questions. Ginsburg refused to answer questions “sixty times.”

I was on this committee in 1993. Justice Ginsburg was not telling mythological tales when she refused nearly 60 times to answer questions—including mine—that she believed would violate what she said was her rule of “no hints, no previews.” Those were her words, not mine. Justice Ginsburg did what every supreme court nominee has done: she drew the line she believed was necessary to protect her impartiality and independence. Finally, the third fact thathqmhould guide us is that the senate traditionally has respected the nominee’s judgment about where to draw the line. In response to some of my questions, judge Ginsburg said, “i must draw line at that point and hope you will respect what i have tried to tell you.” Did i wish she had drawn the line differently? Of course, but i respected her decision. This is the historical standard. In 1967, our colleague, senator kennedy, former chairman of this committee, made the same point at a press conference supporting Supreme Court nominee Thurgood Marshall. He said, “we have to respect that any nominee to the supreme court would have to defer any comments on any matters which are either before the likely to appear before court.

Others liveblogging this: Michelle Malkin
Blogs For Bush
The Political Teen has the video of Robert’s opening statement.

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One Response to “Notes From The Roberts Hearing”

Clay on September 12th, 2005 9:38 pm

I saw Kennedy on TV this afternoon at lunchtime pontification about the importance of justice and equal opportunity for all citizens…except of course for Mary Jo Kopechne which he murdered. Everytime this drunken fool speaks the immediate comeback will always be Mary Jo Kopechne. He just needs to take his gin martini and find some cocktail party to crash.

As for Biden, he is a hypocrite. He sternly informs Roberts that he should be forthcoming with answers to the myriad of questions that liberals like him have, yet when it was Ginsberg’s turn, he advised her that she didn’t have to be as forthcoming.