Report: “Deep, personal discord” at Supreme Court after Roberts’s switch
If Roberts had been with the liberals from the beginning, sources tell me that would have been one thing; but switching his position – and relatively late in the process – infuriated the conservatives.
Of course it’s unclear why he switched. He may have been focused solely on the law. But that is not what some of his colleagues believe…
Now this conflict has been brewing for some time. You can trace it back to the first full term of the new Roberts Court. That term had several controversial cases, including school busing and abortion. Liberal justices thought Roberts had signaled he would be open to compromise and be more moderate. But he sided with conservatives that year, making the liberals feel misled. They were furious. As one said at the time: “He talks the talk, but won’t walk the walk.”
Conservatives were angry at Roberts, too – they thought he gave the liberals false hope. He ended up just pushing them further away.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
He or she?
bayview on July 9, 2012 at 3:44 AM
I’ll just state again that Roberts was given to us by an establishment GOP.
Same guys MOST OF YOU want to put back in charge of the nation – even though they so horrendously failed last time.
And this time they’ll give us a LIBERAL court in addition to spending us into bankruptcy.
Have fun with that.
HondaV65 on July 9, 2012 at 4:49 AM
Any or all of this story may be true, but why is it we’re so willing to believe a story from the MSM that has not a single named source?
notropis on July 9, 2012 at 6:10 AM
i actually dont like to rail on the scotus judges and decisions. it bad to make that institution subject to partisan warfare. its not the way our democracy should work.
they are all fine judges and lets move on.
nathor on July 9, 2012 at 6:36 AM
Knock-knock.
Hi Mrs. n
Is Pollyanna home?
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on July 9, 2012 at 6:45 AM
On every decision I am sure there is lots of these type things going on.
If we knew all the inner goings-on we would want to boot them all out and impose term limits on them.
albill on July 9, 2012 at 6:46 AM
Sez who? You reap what you sow.
tommyboy on July 9, 2012 at 6:49 AM
Let’s see, so far this thread has:
- Obama’s “people” threatening to kill Chelsea Clinton to keep Hillary from using “birther” attacks on him in the primary;
- Speculation that Obama’s “people” therefore threatened to kill Roberts’s kids or wife;
- Karl Rove gleeful at the Roberts vote;
- George Bush actually telling Roberts to vote for Obamacare;
- The same one-note knucklehead continuing his campaign for 1% Gary Johnson;
- Roberts selling out the most important vote of his life for “cocktail party invitations”;
And much more. Many of you are insane…Hotair is dead.
Jaibones on July 9, 2012 at 6:57 AM
Not really. They’ve still got the market cornered on stories on atheists and gays.
MikeA on July 9, 2012 at 7:08 AM
Don’t be so sure. He was on RedEye some months ago and was supporting some big government intrusion. I can’t remember which. I’m thinking it was one of Bloomberg’s. At first, I thought he was being funny, but no.
Odysseus on July 9, 2012 at 7:10 AM
i think having the supreme divided by partisan lines and openly acknowledging without realizing the seriousness of the situation is bad enough.
nathor on July 9, 2012 at 7:12 AM
Do your hands hurt from all that wringing?
fossten on July 9, 2012 at 7:17 AM
C-BS. That is all.
txhsmom on July 9, 2012 at 7:21 AM
Sorry but it’s been that way from the beginning. At least since Justice Marshall aquitted Aaron Burr of treason merely to get back at his political rival Thomas Jefferson.
tommyboy on July 9, 2012 at 7:22 AM
Thanks for the optimistic halftime report. Do you think we should run or pass more in the second half?
Difficultas_Est_Imperium on July 9, 2012 at 8:59 AM
SCOTUS has been divided openly along partisan lines for the last 30 years.
The liberals have been open about their contempt for law and the constitution for at least that long. But even more open recently. Look at the decisions which cite to modern laws from other Countries to “interpret” the US Constitution.
The only difference here is that the split is entirely on the conservative side. With Roberts demonstrating that he a) isn’t as smart as everyone thought and b) doesn’t have a backbone. He would rather defile the constitution than risk the ostracism of the left/DC insiders.
I would much rather this were open and out then hidden away. Roberts and the liberals shouldn’t be allowed to hide their hatred of the US constitution behind false Camaraderie on the court.
Monkeytoe on July 9, 2012 at 9:08 AM
It’s nice to see that SCOTUS has now become a full fledged member of the “As the Stomach Turns” side of D.C.. There is no such thing as too much drama. “Journalists” must mostly be frustrated screen writers. Oh, wait, I forgot, Woodward and Bernstein are the models.
Cindy Munford on July 9, 2012 at 9:10 AM
no, we’re not going to ‘ move along’ when the congress that passed obama/roberts tax, the executive that lied about it, and the chief justice of the supreme court, who opted to re-write a law he found to be unConstitutional, act above the law and violate the Constitution.
roberts let his supreme court be used as a vehicle to advance not the enumeration on the limits of government power but the expansion of those powers so deep into the private lives of americans- taxing non-activity and giving the funds to private companies- that the implication is there is NO restraint on government’s power to do whatever it wishes as long as it phrases this power lust as a ‘tax’.
none of the branches of government are above the law- whether they believe it or not. the constitution restrains government- it’s not a vehicle as it has been used for decades and as numerous supreme court justices like hugo black have warned , to advance government power intrusively and without limit. i am not pucking moving on.
the deeper problem is that citizens can no longer tell the difference between the obligations and responsibilities of liberty and the passive acceptance of enforced dependence for ‘ their own and the common good’. it’s because of this that we have elected the sort of people that would pass obamacare, filling the bench of a court that has the audacity to declare it unconstitutional is such a convoluted manner.
mittens on July 9, 2012 at 9:54 AM
What is it with you and so many others that come here and bash the “establishment GOP” and presume that that’s what we all are? Who says that most of us want to put them back in charge? What is so hard for you to understand that this election is about one thing and one thing only; getting Obama OUT. Right now judges don’t matter, Romney not being your ideal candidate doesn’t matter, right now the hardcore social issues don’t matter. What matters is GETTING OBAMA OUT. How hard is that to get through your thick skulls. After Obama is gone and the American decline slows, then we worry about fixing the rest. But right now, GET OBAMA OUT. Repeat as necessary…
Big John on July 9, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2