How O'Connor Got Job

WND.com ^ | 07-05-05 | Farah, Joseph

[Theodore R.]

How O'Connor got job

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 5, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Sandra Day O'Connor is stepping down as a Supreme Court justice after 24 years, and most Americans still have no idea how she got the job in the first place.

She got it through deception.

She fooled President Reagan into thinking she was a supporter of the Constitution as written, and she did it with the help of a conservative Republican icon named Kenneth Starr.

Starr is best known as the independent counsel who investigated Bill Clinton's crimes as president. As such, he set himself up as a foil for Democrats – a kind of pit bull who would stop at nothing to bring Clinton to justice.

The truth? He was either the most incompetent prosecutor in the history of the country or complicit in the cover-up of those crimes. I lean toward the latter judgment.

I tend to judge people by their deeds, not their words. And, intentionally or unintentionally, Starr and O'Connor are two people who have done much more to harm this country than help it.

Ultimately, Starr let Clinton off the hook on all his crimes. And he did it in a way that actually persuaded many that he was unjustly persecuting the ex-president. That is no mean feat.

But less well-known is Starr's role in deliberately deceiving President Reagan about O'Connor – changing the very dynamic of the court for nearly a quarter-century.

I'm sure there will be many nice words expressed about the O'Connor legacy over the coming weeks and months. But the truth is that O'Connor has been a disaster on the court. She has no respect for the U.S. Constitution. She fancies herself a lawmaker, not a justice. And that is just how she has handled her long tenure on the court.

She is also one of the majority members of the court who believes the U.S. Supreme Court should look to foreign courts for precedents. It is an astonishing betrayal of American sovereignty, independence and our Constitution.

While others today are extolling Sandra Day O'Connor's tenure on the court, I say, "good riddance."

What was Starr's role in elevating O'Connor to this position?

In 1981, it was – as recounted by Rowland Evans and Robert Novak – "a hurriedly prepared, error-filled memo by a young Justice Department lawyer" that convinced President Reagan to go through with the nomination of O'Connor to the court – despite tremendous opposition from those who believed she was unfit and unworthy of Reagan's support.

That young Justice Department lawyer was Kenneth Starr.

The memo gave O'Connor a clean bill of health on abortion by "using legal gymnastics to explain her Arizona legislative record," wrote Evans and Novak. He wrote that she had "no recollection" of how she voted on a 1970 bill to legalize abortion when, in fact, she was a co-sponsor of the measure that was defeated 6-3 in committee.

Starr misrepresented that O'Connor was something of a friend and associate of the leader of the state's Arizona pro-life leader, Dr. Carolyn Gerster. In fact, Gerster told Evans and Novak: "I had an adversary position with Sandra O'Connor" and called her "one of the most powerful pro-abortionists in the [Arizona] Senate."

Starr has since reportedly confided to a few conservatives that his role in the O'Connor debacle is his biggest regret. That hardly begins to undo the damage he has inflicted on the nation as a result of that chicanery. And if I were Starr, I would regret even more the fact that I was unable or unwilling to charge President Clinton with any meaningful high crime or misdemeanor given the overwhelming evidence against him on the public record.

The Starr historical legacy can best be summarized like this: He deceived President Reagan about O'Connor and let Clinton off the hook for monstrous crimes. Just what is it about the career of Kenneth Starr that some find so heroic and laudable?

[Theodore R.]

Farah might also have mentioned how Jerry Falwell and Howard Phillips warned him about O'Connor, but Reagan wasn't listening.

[sgtbono2002]

*****The truth? He was either the most incompetent prosecutor in the history of the country or complicit in the cover-up of those crimes. I lean toward the latter judgment.*****

I have stated this same thing about Ken Starr many times, I have been called crazy because of it , but I still say the appointment of Ken Starr to investigate Bill Clinton was an inside job.

[Theodore R.]

But why would the GHWB operative Starr allow himself to be so used by Reno and Clinton?

[Congressman Billybob]

This article is wrong with respect to Justice O'Connor's specific career on the Supreme Court. She was not consistently bad from the beginning. To the contrary, she began by generally voting to respect and enforce the Constitution.

It was only late in her career that O'Connor began savaging the Constitution frequently, and went over to the dark side in championing the use of foreign laws and court decisions to "interpret" the US Constitution.

Farah obviously has a burr under his saddle about Kenneth Starr. I won't comment on that side of his article. However, in his description of O'Connor, Farah is wrong, for reasons I described this week.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "Replace Justice O'Connor -- But Which One?"

[Moonman62]

Reagan's big mistake there was he wanted to nominate a woman at all costs.

[Atlas Sneezed]

It was only late in her career that O'Connor began savaging the Constitution frequently.

---

Perhaps we need partial-term limits for Justices. Remove them once they have reached, say, the final third of an average life. I know if is an arbitrary line drawing without principle, but the liberals shouldn't mind.

[b4its2late]

Starr and O'Connor are two people who have done much more to harm this country than help it.

Wow. Heck of a legacy for these two.

[zeugma]

But why would the GHWB operative Starr allow himself to be so used by Reno and Clinton?

Probably the same reason Sandy Berger got barely a slap on the wrist for serial theft and destruction of classified documents. For all the smoke and light you hear in DC regarding politics, one thing is always clear: they protect their own.

[joesnuffy]

Mena

[ken21]

bork in today's wsj says it will take 3 conservative appointees to change the court.

long overdue.

can it be done before hillary takes office in 09?

[yarddog]

one thing is always clear: they protect their own.

That is the only explanation I can understand but it sure didn't apply to Nixon's people who consistently were handed down the harshest sentence allowed by Judge Sirica.

[bandleader]

I agree!By limiting his choices to how someone looked"below the belt",we wound up with 24-years of O'Conner!!

[zeugma]

There are exceptions to every rule. I'm not sure how much of an exception that actually was though, as Watergate had far-ranging implications politically. I think the punishment was related to the political problems Watergate generated. If they system feels threatened in any way, it reacts strongly.

[sgtbono2002]

The only thing I know is that Ken Starr had a case that should have been lock-tight and he managed to blow it.

Now thats either stupidity or it was a part of the plan.

[unbalanced but fair]

World Net Daily, one small step above the National Enquirer. Geez, now it's all Ken Starr's fault. Who knew he was that smart and that powerful? And I wouldn't take any advice from Jerry Falwell either; good for Reagan.

[GipperGal]

I tend to think "incompetent prosecutor" is closer to the truth. After all, his role in the O'Connor appointment reveals that he has a history of incompetence and shoddy professional workmanship.