Be Very Afraid? Or Not?

It has begun and it looks exactly as I had anticipated. I’m not sure yet whether this is a demonstration of the pervasive ineptitude of our United States Senate or the remarkable appointment of President Bush in the selection of John Roberts for the Chief Justice position. Let the Inquisition Commence

So far, as I watch (actually listen, since there isn’t much to see beyond talking heads) the hearings I’m impressed with the demeanor of Judge Roberts and equally appalled by the manifest ignorance and venality of the interrogators. The blatant attempts to overwhelm the candidate with trivia, historic inaccuracies, contrived convolutions, and sound bites from the Democratic National Committee talking points is downright scary.

The best sound bite of the entire show may have already been heard. Roberts used it in his introductory remarks which consumed only six of his allotted ten minutes. He likened the role of justices of the Supreme Court to the umpire in a ball game and noted quite correctly that no one goes to the game to see the umps.

That’s pretty appropriate to the role of the courts as the Founders envisioned it. The Court, as it was irretrievably shaped by John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, is not to throw the pitches nor to bat the ball or run the bases. The Court is there simply to apply the rules as they have been established in the Constitution.

But, I’ve just been watching Patrick Leahy and I’ve got to say that while he looked sincere he sounded foolish. He threw mud at the wall and dredged up every red herring of the past forty years to see if the stench could cover Roberts. We got some Iran-Contra, a bit of Vietnam, an oblique allusion to lack of WMD in Iraq, some torture of terrorists and even reference to an imperial presidency. None of which have much to do with John Roberts.

Then, someone put Teddy of Chappaquiddick on the microphone—either because of his seniority on the committee or because he loses some coherency after lunch. He spent his fifteen minutes of questioning time creating some sort of strawman that sought to wrap Roberts in a sort of Ku Klux Klan mantle of racism. Even after carefully reading the preparations of his staff which sought to elevate the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the early ‘60s (the legacy of pathetic Ted’s wiser and more able brother), he couldn’t quite get the anti-equality implications to stick. Unabashed, however, he still was reluctant to let Roberts reply to the convolutions of his “question”.

Now, I’ve got Hair Club for Men member, Joe Biden trying to get Roberts to commit to decisions that he’s going to make in future court cases. Pretty tough to get spontaneous rulings on theoretical cases, but Joe’s still trying. Gotta admit though, that Biden’s much more personable and was really charming with his baseball allegories of Supreme Court judges having the freedom to define the strike zone. Ahhh, but Biden goes on to demand that Roberts follow a newly defined “Ginsberg Principle” in which he wants Robert to follow the path the Justice Ginsberg trod during her confirmation. Ginsberg talked about future positions and now Joe wants Roberts to either do the same or be cast as the bad guy. And, Biden can’t keep his big mouth shut or bridle his sarcasm. Disgusting actually.

I’m scared, very scared. The Senators are demonstrating such incredible stupidity and venality that it frightens me. And, more frightening than that is the fact that most Americans may not even notice.

But, I’m also feeling pretty good that we’ve got a candidate for Chief Justice who apparently is pretty damned sharp.