Clarence Thomas

Cordiality On The Supreme Court: Does It Exist After The Health Care Decision?

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It has always been said that the members of the Supreme Court are always cordial and friendly, no matter their ideological differences.

But one wonders if that is so, after Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion in the case involving “ObamaCare”, joining the four liberals on the Court.

We know that Antonin Scalia was uncomfortable as the decision was being issued, and was certainly furious and temperamental in his public utterances that Thursday morning!

It is hard to imagine that Scalia, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas are NOT upset over the decision, and that it might very well affect personal relationships. This may not be something easily overcome, particularly when the usual swing vote, that of Justice Anthony Kennedy, was not there to support Roberts.

Roberts may be hoping, privately, that Scalia and Kennedy retire, as they really should soon, with their age being past 80 by the end of the next term.

On the other hand, Roberts and all of us will be burdened for many years by the relative youth of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito!

This whole situation makes it more urgent than ever that Barack Obama replace retiring Justices, as well as circuit court judges, if there is to be any hope for a fair hearing in Supreme Court cases!

The “compassionate conservatism” of Chief Justice Roberts is far preferable to the narrow minded, biased, uncaring conservatism of Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and YES, even Anthony Kennedy, sorry to say!

What Might Have Been: Chief Justice Samuel Alito!

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In Jully 2005, shortly after Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement, President George W. Bush announced John Roberts as his choice as her replacement on the Supreme Court.

The hearings were scheduled for early September, but two days before the hearings began, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and overnight, Bush decided to switch Roberts to be the appointee for Chief Justice, and later selected Samuel Alito to replace O’Connor!

The course of history was changed dramatically by this, ever more so now after Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion on the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare!

Samuel Alito has proved to be a right wing extremist on the Supreme Court, joining with Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, and often called “Scalito” by critics. He also is the Justice who mouthed “not true” after the CItizens United Case decision, when President Obama, in the State of the Union speech a few days later, openly criticized that decision to the faces of the Supreme Court, while the other Justices, including Roberts, sat stone faced, which was the professional way to behave, but not for Alito!

The leader of the Court knows the Court is in his name, and that he must think of history, and Chief Justice Roberts knows that well, and has shown his statesmanship on this health care case, realizing no major decision of the Court since 1937 has repudiated a major social reform law passed by Congress.

Justice Alito is NOT a statesman, far from it, and rather is in many ways a disgrace–a narrow minded, hostile, nasty representative of the agenda of the Far Right, who if he had any ethics, would resign from the Court, but preceded by Scalia and Thomas, the two worst Justices of the past half century on the Court!

A Reminder: The Supreme Court Determines The Future!

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WIth the Supreme Court term about to end on Thursday, and all of the tumult about the upcoming decision on the Affordable Care Act, and the decisions today on immigration, corporate spending in campaigns, and juvenile sentencing for life terms for murder fresh on one’s mind, it is again important to remember what most Americans don’t even know or realize: The Supreme Court determines the future, more than any part of American government!

A lifetime job, with total freedom to say and do what one wants, is a great power, and we are now suffering from the reality that Ronald Reagan may be dead for eight years, but two of his appointments to the Court (Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy) are still dictating much of what happens in America; George H. W. Bush’s appointee, Clarence Thomas, is not going away anytime soon; and George W. Bush’s two appointments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, will be around for at least two more decades on the Court, assuming good health!

And now with Scalia and Kennedy being 76, and Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsberg being 79 and Stephen Breyer being 73, it is certain that one to four appointments are likely to be made by the winner of the 2012 election.

Can we afford President Romney shaping a Court that will be to the “right of Attila the Hun?”

It would destroy the chance for fairness, equity, humanity on the Court, and would continue the corporate conquest of American government going on with the Citizens United case, and the new Montana case just decided, that reaffirmed that earlier, disgraceful, decision!

It cannot be emphasized enough that NOTHING matters more than the Supreme Court and the federal circuit judges in this upcoming Presidential election! Economic policy and foreign policy are much less significant than constitutional law!

Obama and his supporters NEED to bring up this issue regularly, and never stop referring to it, with the hope that it will penetrate the brains of the American people!

Conservatives Who Support The Obama Health Care Law: Charles Fried, Laurence Silberman, Jeffrey Sutton

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Three major conservative leaders have made clear by statements and actions that they believe the Obama Health Care law is constitutional under the commerce clause of the Constitution.

Charles Fried, who was Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, was highly critical of some of the questioning by conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court this past week. Fried said health care is interstate commerce, and that Congress has the right to regulate interstate commerce. The arguments utilized in questioning are “phony rhetoric” in Fried’s mind.

Judge Laurence Silberman of the DC Court Of Appeals upheld the Obama Health Care law as constitutional in one of the cases brought by states before circuit courts on the way to the Supreme Court, decided on November 8, 2011. He has been a federal judge for 27 years, appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and is a good friend, of all people, of Justice Clarence Thomas, who is seen as a guaranteed vote against the Obama Health Care law.

And Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th Circuit Court Of Appeals upheld the health care law on June 29, 2011, and is seen as a leader of the conservative Federalist Society! He was appointed by George W. Bush, and is considered a disciple of Justice Antonin Scalia! He is well known as a states rights advocate!

So go figure!

This tells us ANYTHING can happen on this Court decision, and not to come to a conclusion this early that the Obama Health Care law is going to be overturned!

Chief Justice John Roberts: What He Wants As His Long Term Legacy

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There is much speculation about the US Supreme Court and the most important case in a decade–the Affordable Care Act, known by its critics as “ObamaCare”.

Many think Anthony Kennedy is the key vote, but actually, the author would say that Chief Justice John Roberts is the REAL key vote, and there is much speculation that he will join the liberals and Kennedy, the usual swing vote, and might even convince Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito to join as well, on the power of his personality and the respect he engenders on the Court over the past seven years.

Chief Justice Roberts is going to have long career on the Court, and he wants his legacy to be positive, and IF the Court rules against “ObamaCare”, his reputation will be in tatters, and will be irretrievable.

Roberts is considered one of the brightest members of the Court, and although a conservative, he is not extreme as Clarence Thomas, for instance, is.

Roberts wishes to unite and move forward, and has been stung by the horrible reaction to the Citizens United case of 2010, and to the remnants of the Bush V. Gore case of 2000, the damage done to the reputation of the Court BEFORE he arrived as Chief Justice in 2005.

His questioning showed a mind conflicted, but to believe that he will negate the whole law is hard to imagine, as he set aside three days and six hours for this case, highly unusual, and that is, to many observers, a sign that he recognizes how crucial this issue is in itself, and the seriousness with which he takes it..

While no one can read the mind of anyone, expect Roberts to write the opinion and be in the majority, which is likely 6-3, but could be 7-2 or 8-1.

This case will shape the long term future of the Court, and if the law is overturned, the likely result will be, over time, a single payer system, which any conservative would not want.

And remember it was conservatives who led the charge in the time of Bill Clinton for what is now “RomneyCare” in Massachusetts, and “ObamaCare” in America!

Two Year Anniversary Of Health Care Law, And Oral Arguments On Case Next Week In Supreme Court

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The Affordable Care Act, the Obama Health Care legislation, hits its two year anniversary this week, and next week, the US Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the legislation, seen as the landmark case of the past decade by many, and as the crucial issue that will have a dramatic effect either way on the upcoming Presidential Election of 2012.

The Obama Health Care law has allowed young people to remain on their parents’ health insurance to age 26; has prevented pre-existing conditions from being used to deny health care; and has cut down the “donut hole” for senior citizens in relation to their prescription costs.

Many other reforms must wait until 2014, assuming that the Supreme Court does not declare the whole act unconstitutional.

There is furious action to try to destroy the signature legislation that really defines the Obama Presidency, a law that took a full year to pass, and that was passed on party lines, which is actually not at all unusual in history.

Some federal judges have upheld the legislation, while others have challenged it, and it will be argued by both sides over three days for the unusually long total period of six hours, showing just how significant this case is!

As it seems now, the four “liberal” Justices–Bill Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, and Barack Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—will support the legislation.

For it to survive in one piece, at least one of the five “conservative” Justices would have to join the four liberal appointees of Clinton and Obama.

Anthony Kennedy, usually the swing vote, and usually joining the liberals on about one third of the cases before the Court, is thought to be a good bet, but not a guarantee.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who is very aware of the significance of this case for the Court and for his reputation, is thought to join in the majority, but again no certainty.

Ironically, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who one would think would be opposed, has indicated in other cases as hints that he just might support the legislation.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito is thought less likely to support the legislation, and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is thought to be the one certain, guaranteed vote against the health care legislation.

The argument for the legislation is the application of the commerce clause of the Constitution, which has been utilized over and over again by the US Supreme Court in the past, adding to the powers of the federal government. This was the same controversy with the Social Security Act, with a conservative oriented Supreme Court in the 1930s, and that legislation was upheld.

The argument against is based on opposition to the so called “mandate” that all citizens MUST obtain health insurance coverage by 2014, or face a fine.

What the critics fail to address is that when someone does not have health insurance and ends up needing medical care, he or she ends up in the emergency room, and all of us have to pay for the health care provided. Is it proper that some have no health care coverage and gain medical aid, and the rest of us have to pay for our health care, and also for those who are irresponsible enough to avoid paying for care that he or she knows he or she can gain for free?

This is the crux of the matter, and it is hoped and believed that a majority of the Supreme Court will end up backing the Health Care law, with a prediction by many of at least 5-4, but even possibly 6-3, or 7-2, or even 8-1.

A victory by more than 5-4 would be a real endorsement of the health care legislation, while a 5-4 defeat would be a major blow to 50 million citizens who benefit from the legislation.

In either case, this decision, when it is announced in June, will have a transformative effect on our nation, and on the Presidential Election of 2012. We will all wait with “baited breath” for the result!

Confessions Of Dirty Deeds By Those On The Right Politically, But Cowardice By Many Republican Leaders!

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In the midst of obscene racism and misogyny and bashing of labor and gays by right wing extremists in the media and the Republican Party, every now and then, we get some who feel guilt and confess to their horrific work and ask to be forgiven.

Examples include Lee Atwater, who mastered the concept of the political smear for the campaign of George H. W. Bush in 1988 against Michael Dukakis, and later confessed and asked for forgiveness on his death bed, dying from cancer.

Another such case was David Brock who smeared Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas controversy in 1991, and did other dirty deeds for right wing hate mongers including smearing Bill Clinton, but later confessed and works to expose Fox News Channel and others who distort and smear, through his leadership of Media Matters For America.

And a third is Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the George W. Bush re-election committee in 2004, who helped to promote an anti gay agenda that year, and yet is himself gay, and has now apologized for what he did eight years ago.

This kind of conservative dirty tactics, as practiced by Atwater, Brock, and Mehlman still is very widespread, so we find Republican leaders unwilling to condemn Rush Limbaugh, for his description of a college student, who testified for the right of women to have contraceptive coverage on health care plans sponsored by employers, as being a slut and prostitute, who should produce sex tapes for Rush and others to watch! Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have no ethics that allows them to openly condemn such outrages by Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and other propagandists.

At the same time, there are conservative commentators who are decent and principled enough to condemn these kinds of statements and actions, including David Frum, Kathleen Parker, and Chris Buckley.

What a disgrace, that there is no standard of decency past or present on the right, in the mad rush to condemn, besmirch, and smear those they oppose, rather than criticize based on issues and viewpoints alone!

75th Anniversary Of Supreme Court “Packing” Plan Of FDR: Its Significance Today

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Seventy five years ago on this day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced his plan to reorganize the Supreme Court, becoming known as an attempt to “pack” the Court, which became a turning point in many ways, including the fact that it was repudiated by the Senate in July 1937; weakened the power and clout of FDR shortly after his landslide victory in 1936; and led rapidly to a transformation of the Court, and FDR replacing, over the next five years, all but two members of the Court he was challenging.

The Supreme Court had stood in the way of change and progress during the Great Depression, declaring many New Deal laws unconstitutional, and FDR brought the Justices under attack as a result. Bitterly criticized as acting dictatorial, FDR was put on the defensive, but the long range was the Court adapting to an expansive view of the Constitution within a short time, and leading to a Court which dealt with the expansion of federal power and greater support of civil liberties and civil rights.

Today, three quarters of a century later, the Republican dominated Supreme Court has opened up the gates of campaign spending abuse in election campaigns, by its Citizens United decision of 2010. Additionally, crucial cases, including the Obama Health Care Plan, are to be decided by June, which will determine the fate of much of what Barack Obama has done and wishes to do as part of his agenda as President. Obama already made clear his criticism of the direction of the Court two years ago, with the Justices sitting there at the State of the Union Address. And three of the nine Justices–Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito–have boycotted the past two State of the Union Addresses, and represent the major challenge to the Obama Presidency, more than any other members of the Court.

No one is saying or predicting that Obama will attempt such a bold act as FDR did, and were he to do so, it would certainly cause the biggest controversy and split possible to imagine, greater than any issue so far in his administration.

But the Supreme Court IS an issue in the upcoming Presidential campaign, as the likelihood of replacements on the Court in the next term are very likely. This is particularly the case with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who has had bouts with cancer, and would pass 80 years of age at the beginning of the next term. Her liberal vote would be lost if the Republicans win the White House and she leaves the Court. Additionally, based on aging, it is possible to imagine that Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, and Stephen Breyer could leave the Court before 2017.

So who is elected President, and who controls the majority of the US Senate, which would need to confirm a Court appointment, is very significant, although not much attention is being paid to this issue because of the troubles with the economy.

The Further Deterioration Of The Presidential Candidates: Can’t We Find Qualified Candidates?

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The deterioration of the Republican Party continues, and it is amazing that whenever one thinks we have reached the “bottom of the barrel”, the situation gets worse.

Many have criticized George W. Bush as not very bright, not very qualified to be our President, and some have unfairly said he is the worst President in American history, a totally inaccurate statement.

But when one looks at all of the faults of George W. Bush, and then examines Sarah Palin who considered running; Michele Bachmann; Rick Perry; and now Herman Cain, honestly it gets worse all of the time and makes George W. Bush look like a genius!

Palin had little knowledge of any subject, but at least had SOME experience in public office.

Michele Bachmann came across as more looney and nutty, but at least had a few terms in the House of Representatives.

Rick Perry came across as making George W. Bush look brilliant, and has proved to be a terrible candidate, but at least he has been Governor of the second largest state for eleven years.

And then we have Herman Cain, with NO qualifications other than having been the head of Godfather Pizza, with NO experience in government at all, and totally coming across as a fool! And then he has sexual harassment charges lodged against him, and he and others start to compare him to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who had similar charges against him in 1991, but overcame them and went on to the Court, where he remains after 20 years.

The point is that Herman Cain is actually far worse than George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry!

it is also true that Herman Cain is no Clarence Thomas, who at least has intellectual qualifications, even if one does not agree with his jurisprudence!

So the GOP gets worse and worse and worse, while Mitt Romney flounders with a consistent one fourth of the party for him, and three fourths against him.

And Jon Huntsman, the best candidate the party has to offer, is “dead in the water” with one or two percent!

What a great tragedy for the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan!

Herman Cain And The Race Card: Hypocrisy To The Extreme!

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Herman Cain has long made it clear that he does not think race is a factor in American life, and has shown no concern over the high incarceration rate and poverty rate that African Americans are faced with.

He has been quick to poke fun at Barack Obama as not a true black, but instead at himself as a true black who is against affirmative action, against poverty programs, against any consideration of the horrible social conditions that many people of his race deal with daily.

But yet, as soon as he is attacked for sexual harassment, he pulls a “Clarence Thomas”, claiming he is a victim because he is black, that he is being subjected to a “high tech lynching” and a “witch hunt”, and suddenly the conservative talk show hosts use the race card, while attacking Barack Obama if even a suggestion of Obama’s race is brought up as somehow promoting the “black cause”!

The fact is that Herman Cain, now blaming Rick Perry for what is happening, must come to grips with the fact that such a story would not have come about without substantial evidence, and he is simply trying to blame someone else for his own shortcomings, which include incompetence and ignorance about EVERY subject that he brings up or is questioned about!

Is Herman Cain ready for the “big time”? The answer clearly is NO!