Specter angry at Roberts for overturning precedent, wants green cards for all illegals
posted at 6:58 pm on July 26, 2007 by Allahpundit
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No connection between those two things, I freely admit, except for his own RINO squishiness. His neat-o amnesty plan — which opts for 12 million permanent legal residents instead of citizens — is here. Presumably the people at his gym like it. I want to blockquote the piece about Roberts, though, just so that you know whose water he’s carrying. From the mind that brought us “super-duper precedents”:
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) plans to review the Senate testimony of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito to determine if their reversal of several long-standing opinions conflicts with promises they made to senators to win confirmation…
“There are things he has said, and I want to see how well he has complied with it,” Specter said, singling out Roberts.
The Specter inquiry poses a potential political problem for the GOP and future nominees because Democrats are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court moved quicker and more dramatically than advertised to overturn or chip away at prior decisions…
The idea for a review came to Specter when he said he ran into Justice Stephen G. Breyer at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.
Breyer, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, drew attention last month for suggesting that Roberts and the conservative majority were flouting stare decisis, the legal doctrine that, for the sake of stability, courts should generally leave past decisions undisturbed.
The dumbest thing about this is that it admits no solution even if he proves with Queegian geometric logic that Roberts hasn’t been as faithful to precedent as he’d have liked. What are they going, try to impeach him on grounds of “he didn’t rule the way I thought he would”? If that’s fair cause, where do I go to submit the bill of impeachment against Souter?
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I don’t like to be crude by frankly their just is no other way . . . screw Specter and the horse he rode in on. Bush should have let that bum fall by the wayside during the last election but unfortunately he didn’t.
rplat on July 26, 2007 at 7:01 PM
We’re bringing back Dredd Scott?!?!?
Mortis on July 26, 2007 at 7:02 PM
What about all the promises Specter made to Pennsylvania? What a moron. I’ll never forgive the RNC for backing him against Toomey!
SouthernGent on July 26, 2007 at 7:02 PM
Do you get the feelig that it is the Senate which is becoming imperialistic?
Connie on July 26, 2007 at 7:03 PM
Worse, WTF is Breyer doing here? Can’t win the argument in chambers so you go to the Senate to complain the Chief Justice doesn’t view stare decisis in exactly the same way you do? Isn’t this why we have nine justices? Because there can be all sorts of good faith disagreements on these things?
Yeesh, I loathe that guy. Specter too. What a waste of a good seat in the Senate.
Maybe we can go to Pennsylvania, Allah, and ask the voters to review whether Specter’s campaign promises are “consistent” with his behaviour on the Judiciary Committee. What a loser.
The Apologist on July 26, 2007 at 7:07 PM
Don’t do the right thing so quickly! Riiiight.
Spirit of 1776 on July 26, 2007 at 7:09 PM
What is Robert’s supposed to do? “While the facts and the law favor the appellant in this case, I made a blanket promise to Sen. Spector during my confirmation hearings so despite the fact they are wrong, I cast my vote with the respondent”?
Yeah, that’s a great idea.
Also not loving this new idea…elected politicians. It seems on occasion they have voted differently than they indicated during campaigns.
Impeachments all around!
Arlen Specter…still a preening jackass after all these years.
Drew on July 26, 2007 at 7:13 PM
Time to run these RINOs out of town on a rail!
jdawg on July 26, 2007 at 7:14 PM
Has Specter reached Byrd-like sentience, just without the slow cadence,…..pauses…., and hand-waving?
I guess this is just his way of freaking out that someone might be stepping too close to his super-duper freaky-deaky hunky-dory precedents.
eeyore on July 26, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Just a gigantic steaming pile of BullSpecter.
I watched this pretense of a man on FNS loudly proclaim that “we have 12 million illegal aliens to accommodate”.
That we finally have constructionist jurists on the SCOTUS and that’s not good enough for stinky Arlen just tells you what’s sitting there.
Don’t step in it.
Speakup on July 26, 2007 at 7:24 PM
So, let me get this straight, if a decision was wrong for 30 years we should leave it alone because it might ruffle the feathers of a bunch of moonbat liberals?
Well, paint me surprised. lol
csdeven on July 26, 2007 at 7:26 PM
this is why the rnc is not raising money …. they give us these buffoons and expect us to keep supporting them and by the way what is with pennsylvania politcians.
….murtha and spector..what a combo
robo on July 26, 2007 at 7:30 PM
On the other hand, I just heard an tape of Specter lambasting Chuckie pooh over the completely manufactured attorney firings scandal.
*Sigh*
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 7:31 PM
Of course Specter wants green cards for illegal aliens. Very important. Tysons Foods, et all won’t be
paying him as muchmaking as many campaign contributions otherwise.MB4 on July 26, 2007 at 7:36 PM
Colorado? Was Chutch in on this pow-wow? :)
Dusty on July 26, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Specter.must.go.
PBoilermaker on July 26, 2007 at 7:41 PM
So the chief RINO has his proboscis bent out of shape. What a sham….shame.
Tennman on July 26, 2007 at 7:43 PM
Specter is a fool.
He’s not going to recommend articles of impeachment if he decides Roberts (and Alito) went faster than their testimony suggested. He’s just going to use this as a justification for annoying the next nominee and trying to repay Bush for his incomprehensible support of Specter in the primary in ‘04. No good deed goes unpunished, or in this case, no bad deed goes unpunished by the beneficiary.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on July 26, 2007 at 7:44 PM
The Republican party needs to rid itself of this and all of the RINOS in the party (Snow, Collins et al) and they need to do it now. They are cancers growing on our party and they will eat us alive if we don’t. There are no words that would correctly pronounce my distain for these wolfs in sheeps clothing.
NEMETI IN SYRACUSE on July 26, 2007 at 7:44 PM
Some of the people in this thread need to take a deep breath.
I have issues with Arlen also, but do any of you think that anyone more conservative than this man could win in the deep blue state that he hails from?
I will take a blue state RINO over a Dhimmicrat any day of the week.
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 7:51 PM
NEMETI IN SYRACUSE - “The Republican party needs to rid itself of this and all of the RINOS in the party (Snow, Collins et al) and they need to do it now.”
When pruning a tree one must be careful not to prune too much all at once or the tree will die.
Prune McCain, Graham and Specter then wait and see.
MB4 on July 26, 2007 at 7:52 PM
It’s the liberal way. They can’t win elections, so they go to the courts to force their agenda on the populace. The judge is unhappy with the Chief Justice, so he goes to the Senate for remedy.
Mallard T. Drake on July 26, 2007 at 7:54 PM
JayHaw Phrenzie - “I will take a blue state RINO over a Dhimmicrat any day of the week.”
Given a choice of being hung slow or being hung quick, I would choose quick.
MB4 on July 26, 2007 at 7:54 PM
Senator Sphincter has got his head where the sun don’t shine. As usual.
Kini on July 26, 2007 at 7:56 PM
Call me naive (okay, you’re naive), but isn’t the confirmation of judges and justices supposed to be about their competence and understanding of constitutional law, not on how they would decide a case? There are so many facts and information that is different for each case, it is silly to deal in hypotheticals at a hearing.
If Specter’s fishing trip comes up empty, think he will hold a press conference stating such? (Don’t answer, it’s a rhetorical question.)
Mallard T. Drake on July 26, 2007 at 7:59 PM
Go Dread Pirate Roberts!
Mojave Mark on July 26, 2007 at 8:14 PM
I suppose someone should point out how unlikely it was Toomey would have election in Pennsylvania. The idea of being represented by both Toomey and Santorum is still far too repugnant for even me–despite whatever right-wing turn I have taken.
Perhaps, our Toomey supporters could explain where they would find the votes for victory in the PA general election? Keep in mind Santorum’s defeat in 2008.
thuja on July 26, 2007 at 8:16 PM
dose this mean we might get back the 10th amendment?
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.
Mojack420 on July 26, 2007 at 8:18 PM
The senate is filled with a bunch of pompous old farts who get nothing done but shooting off their blow holes. All 100 of them need to be replaced.
Wade on July 26, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Arlen was on Special Report this past Monday. The title on the bottom of the screen read “Sen. Arlen Specter (D)”. Just wondering if anyone else noticed.
oakpack on July 26, 2007 at 8:44 PM
You submit it and you’ll have millions ready to sign it.
Excellent idea!!!!!!! This Floridian wants to know why Amnesty Mel lied on the campaign trail!
Specter always amazes me as he continues to find new heights (or plumb new depths) of arrogance.
Well, if he’s going to scream about stare decisis, let’s throw out all of the decisions from the last 60 years or so that disagree with previous decisions or circumvent the Constitution.
INC on July 26, 2007 at 8:45 PM
So when will Arlen Specter ask to review the Supreme Court Justices who said it’s okay for private land developers to seize our property in order to build mini malls?
SoulGlo on July 26, 2007 at 8:48 PM
I see . . . and just how would a moderate Democrat be any worse than this bum?
rplat on July 26, 2007 at 8:52 PM
Back when the R’s were in the majority in the Senate, I contacted every R on the Judiciary Committee about why Specter shouldn’t be chair. I know it didn’t do any good, but it was the first time I had ever contacted that many committee members about anything.
Yes, I have real issues with snarlin’ Arlen.
INC on July 26, 2007 at 8:56 PM
It’s a picture I can’t get out of my mind:
Breyer walking out of the conference room shaking his head muttering under his breath “I’m gonna tell on those guys”! Stephen “Tattletale” Breyer.
jaime on July 26, 2007 at 8:59 PM
The only reason I can think of for Specter to continue being in office is that he has some embarassing info on the JFK assassination that he plays before every election to the R leadership to keep his seat.
If the voters are really stupid enough to elect this asshat over and over on their own, then it’s worse than potential extortion and blackmail from Arlen’s part, but sheer lunacy by Pennsylvanians.
(He always struck me as a guy who has a extra magic bullet up his sleeve.)
profitsbeard on July 26, 2007 at 9:07 PM
Throw this bum out, sheesh!
I almost wish I had been giving to the RNC so I could cut off all contributions.
infidel4life on July 26, 2007 at 9:18 PM
What promises? I watched these hearings in their entirety and Roberts’ opinions about issues never surfaced. He was very guarded with his words. Even if he would’ve given his opinion, What’s Spector gonna do, revoke his membership from the He-Man Woman Hater’s club?
RMCS_USN on July 26, 2007 at 9:20 PM
AP, you’re attempting to impute logical consistency to Specter.
A fatal mistake.
apostle26 on July 26, 2007 at 9:21 PM
By caucusing with the Dhimmis’s a Moderate Democrat would place us two votes further away form the Senate Majority.
Only a fool thinks we are better off with a Dhimmi “Moderate” (Whatever that is, someone that only wants to surrender a little bit, I guess) than a RINO.
If one more RINO had won in the last election we would control the senate, Einstein.
^^
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 9:25 PM
?????
AP can’t die, He is Blogoshpere Divinity.
infidel4life on July 26, 2007 at 9:26 PM
You forgot the PBUH.
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 9:29 PM
I had to take a deep breath due to hyperventilation from the shock of your statement.
You (and people like you) are the reason that we have such mediocre examples of representatives!!!
According to Ronald Reagan one only needs to motivate four thousand (4000) people to change a tide.
We have, collectively, the representatives that we deserve at any given time, because of our complacency.
Jorge Bush is a perfect example: Emboldened by the “cozy” support of evangelicals he “charged” ahead with whatever was his fancy.
(Psst.. The evangelicals disappointment in Jorge is too embarrassing at the moment. But we will hear about someday).
Mcguyver on July 26, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of my lifetime. Of that there can be no doubt.
Here’s another quote from President Reagan that may be relevent here:
Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”
Do you agree withthe President?
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 26, 2007 at 9:42 PM
I hate the RNC for backing that prick…
Tim Burton on July 26, 2007 at 9:45 PM
I’ve posted this before, but in case you missed it:
Last year Michael Reagan had back to back columns about the White House: Bush Proved Me Right: White House Is Stupid and Arrogant (that one was about immigration) and Congress: GOP Leaders Lose Control of Congress (that one was about corruption, arrogance and RINO’s and included a prediction the GOP might lose the majority).
At the end of the column on Congress, he decided it was time to repeal his dad’s 11th commandment.
INC on July 26, 2007 at 9:55 PM
JayHaw Phrenzie - “Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”
Do you agree with the President?”
“Ronald Reagan’s 12th Commandment: “Thou shalt not always follow Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment.”
MB4 on July 26, 2007 at 9:58 PM
Dredd Scott and Plessey vs. Ferguson…
Every time some Dhimmicrat or RINO starts screeching about stare decisis, that needs to be our mantra that we yell right back at them, again and again and again. Point to those minority-panderers that they are arguing for the return of segregation and watch them squirm.
The fact is, the US Supreme Court is the one court in the federal system which is, and should be, the least bound to stare decisis, since it is the only federal court that does have the power to correct prior bad precedents. All of the lesser courts are bound by stare decisis and the need to follow the rulings of the courts higher to themselves.
Lancer on July 26, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Specter is not representing Pennsylvania. He’s also stopped answering my letters. Creep.
bookwurm322 on July 26, 2007 at 10:09 PM
If you put Specter and Boxer in a room, do you know how you can tell the difference? Boxer has the Malkins.
jeffNWV on July 26, 2007 at 10:17 PM
If you mean as in regards to a Conservative Republican (recently a near oxymoron) then yes, if you mean as in regards to a Republican who lands somewhere to the left of Lieberman…no.
Speakup on July 26, 2007 at 10:17 PM
And Stevens…what about Stevens? And Blackmun?!
Jaibones on July 26, 2007 at 10:20 PM
We screamed loud and long at the time, but no one was listening.
Jaibones on July 26, 2007 at 10:23 PM
How do you drive a RINO crazy?
Put’em in a round room and tell’em to pee in the Conservative restroom.
Speakup on July 26, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Yeah,, right! I guess the Dred Scott decision should have been left alone as well! Maybe the people ought to hold official hearings and look into all the things politicians say
before they are elected vs what they do after they are elected! Those would be interesting hearings!
JellyToast on July 26, 2007 at 10:35 PM
Pinot Grigio has that effect on me.
;-)
infidel4life on July 26, 2007 at 10:45 PM
The liberals’ respect for stare decicis begins and ends at Roe v. Wade and Griswold v. Connecticut(IIRC).
Remember the time they overturned the 5th Amendment? Kelo v. New London IIRC.
Liberals think the constitution is a “living document” until it tries to kill that mastastizing cancer that is abortion.
BKennedy on July 26, 2007 at 10:50 PM
Maybe Plessey v Ferguson (sp?) should have been left alone. It was, after all, settles law for more than half a century. Is Specter comfortable with the concept of “seperate but equal” to maintain stare decisis?
Random Numbers (Brian Epps) on July 26, 2007 at 10:50 PM
Exactly. Stare Decicis only applies when it dovetails with the lefty agenda.
infidel4life on July 26, 2007 at 11:06 PM
I’ve never liked Arlen Spector. Always thought he was dishonest. Stare Decicis ? He and Kennedy and Shumer are worried their past liberal and unconstituional laws may be overruled.
2theright on July 26, 2007 at 11:13 PM
ColtsFan on July 26, 2007 at 11:17 PM
Arlen Spector is there because Bush and Rove threw Toomey under the bus.
Eventually Spector will help the dems run the impeachment hearings on Bush.
peacenprosperity on July 26, 2007 at 11:43 PM
Do you get the feelig that it is the Senate which is becoming imperialistic?
Connie on July 26, 2007 at 7:03 PM
Which one then, is Palpatine?????
Pelosi looks like Jar Jar
Joey1974 on July 27, 2007 at 1:25 AM
That would be iPBUH…iPhone Be Upon Him.
“Meesah wants da minimum wage hike exceptin for my owns corporate interestsah.”
James on July 27, 2007 at 8:04 AM
The Republican Party needs to do some major house cleaning of the 5th column RINOs within it’s ranks. One course of action would be to pull any and all financial support from people like Spector.
Golfer_75093 on July 27, 2007 at 8:17 AM
I know, boys and girls, let’s overturn Brown v. Board of Education!
N. O'Brain on July 27, 2007 at 8:44 AM
Arlen Specter first made a name for himself as a member of the Kennedy Assassination’s Warren Commission. That name in my books is Alien Sphincter. He still has yet to be on the right side of anything.
PatrickS on July 27, 2007 at 9:29 AM
I would like to refer Specter to the case of Pot v. Kettle. Are you serious? A politician complaining about someone not keeping a promise?! For sakes pete, I need a drink!
clawjockey on July 27, 2007 at 9:50 AM
It was reported that Senator Specter & Justice Breyer spoke with foreign courts while reaching their opinion
HarryStar on July 27, 2007 at 10:20 AM
If “lying to a Senator” is a crime then Spider Robinson was right - “God is an iron.”
mojo on July 27, 2007 at 1:27 PM