<< Demoralization on the Right | Main | Labor Monday (7-22) >>

July 22, 2002

"unconscionable act of judicial activism"

Bush is nominating a rightwing judge, Priscilla Owen, to the Fifth Circuit. How rightwing? Well, Bush's White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, who served with her on the Texas Supreme Court, labelled an abortion decision by the nominee "an unconscionable act of judicial activism."

The White House is rushing to assure that they prefer "judicial restraint"-- a rather strong shock giving Bush's admiration for judges like Scalia who have engaged in massive judicial activsm in striking down the Violence Against Women Act and a range of civil rights acts as applied to the states.

Of course, it's all just rhetoric and this nominee highlights that hypocrisy by conservatives over "judicial activism."

Even better, Owens was apparently picked for the job over another colleague on the Texas Supreme Court explicitly because the fellow judge came out on the opposite side of the abortion case.

Since Bush is picking his judges based on their decisions in specific cases, it kills the GOP argument that Senate Dems should stop rejecting judges based on such review of judge's ideological records.

Posted by Nathan at July 22, 2002 07:06 AM

Related posts: