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Scalia On Bush v. Gore: Get Over It!
CBS News 60 Minutes ^ | April 24, 2008 | Ruth Streeter

Posted on 04/24/2008 3:04:19 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

People who believe the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision giving the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush was politically motivated should just get over it, says Justice Antonin Scalia.

Scalia denies that the controversial decision was political and discusses other aspects of his public and private life in a remarkably candid interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, this Sunday, April 27, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

"I say nonsense," Scalia responds to Stahl’s observation that people say the Supreme Court’s decision in Gore v. Bush was based on politics and not justice. "Get over it. It’s so old by now. The principal issue in the case, whether the scheme that the Florida Supreme Court had put together violated the federal Constitution, that wasn’t even close. The vote was seven to two," he says, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision that the Supreme Court of Florida’s method for recounting ballots was unconstitutional.

Furthermore, says the outspoken conservative justice, it was Al Gore who ultimately put the issue into the courts. "It was Al Gore who made it a judicial question…. We didn’t go looking for trouble. It was he who said, 'I want this to be decided by the courts,'" says Scalia. "What are we supposed to say -- 'Not important enough?'" he jokes.

Call him conservative, just don’t call him biased on issues before the Supreme Court, including abortion, he says. "I am a law-and-order guy. I mean, I confess to being a social conservative, but it does not affect my views on cases," he tells Stahl. "On the abortion thing, for example, if indeed I were…trying to impose my own views, I would not only be opposed to Roe versus Wade, I would be in favor of the opposite view, which the anti-abortion people would like to see adopted, which is to interpret the Constitution to mean that a state must prohibit abortion." "And you’re against that?" asks Stahl. "Of course. There’s nothing [in the Constitution to support that view]."

Scalia also denies there is anything personal in his decisions or comments, which can often be biting. Stahl asks how he can be a close friend of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his liberal bench mate, despite the fact that they oftentimes disagree. "I attack ideas, I don’t attack people, and some very good people have some very bad ideas," he tells Stahl. "And if you can’t separate the two, you got to get another day job. You don’t want to be a judge, at least not a judge on a multi-member panel."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections; scalia; scotus; supremecourt
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
What is it the moveon.org people say? Oh, yeah. Move on.
21 posted on 04/24/2008 4:02:38 PM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Jim Noble

Just like the impeachment process is supposed to be a political remedy but has turned into a partisan event.


22 posted on 04/24/2008 4:07:55 PM PDT by Morgan in Denver (The "P" in Democrat stands for Patriot.......)
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To: cubreporter

Democrats appeal to emotions, not logic. They “appear” to have momentum because they keep claiming it’s happening. That works for the mindless but Republicans are probably working at the time and don’t realize what Democrats are doing.

Democrats really do believe if they say something often enough and long enough that most people will believe it. Hey, it’s worked for global warming, right?


23 posted on 04/24/2008 4:12:07 PM PDT by Morgan in Denver (The "P" in Democrat stands for Patriot.......)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Libs always forget that Al Gore brought the case. They also forget, or never knew that it was Justice Breyer who asked the question about the inherent denial of inherent protection in Gore’s argument. Gore’s chief lawyer, David Boies, had to admit the equal protection issue. The case was decided 7-2.


24 posted on 04/24/2008 4:44:53 PM PDT by Pinetop
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To: Always Right

I was in the bookstore yesterday and saw some movie made in 2004 w/ Danny Glover in it bitching about the 2000 election.

Almost bought it for the humor value, but saved the $$.


25 posted on 04/24/2008 6:15:18 PM PDT by sauropod (Forgive me Gore, for I have emitted.)
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To: All
O.K., so let's get to the real deal here...

All the Drive By Media went down to recount all of the ballots themselves. Guess what? Bush still won.

MEMO to the Libs: STFU and get over it.

26 posted on 04/24/2008 8:05:59 PM PDT by Lysandru
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To: Para-Ord.45
One ruling was Constitutional, so that makes it easy to ‘get over it’. The other ruling was unConstitutional unless one comes up with mumbo-jumbo like penumbras of the Bill of Rights to manufacture an inherent right to privacy.

Both rulings were from the same organization, the U.S. Supreme Court. By definition both rulings were constitutional.

27 posted on 04/25/2008 4:04:52 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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