Peter Callaghan
Posted on 06/28/2002 9:19:01 PM PDT by Hostage
It's nothing I can prove, but that's the case with most conspiracy theories.
A lack of proof doesn't mean it's not true.
I believe that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has some sort of insidious relationship - perhaps financial - with the nation's talk radio programs.
I know it is counterintuitive to think that a mostly conservative institution such as talk radio would be in cahoots with the nation's most liberal appeals court. That a left-leaning group of judges might be abetting the vast right-wing conspiracy defies logic.
But that's what they want you to think.
No conspiracy? How else can you explain Wednesday's ruling out of San Francisco that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional establishment of religion.
It's not the pledge, itself, the court ruled in a 2-1 decision. It's the "under God" part.
The decision triggered a feeding frenzy on talk radio where hosts and callers alike denounced the ruling, citing it as clear evidence of every notorious trend in society. I tuned out before it was blamed for acne, although I'm sure that was coming during afternoon drive time.
Listeners who had slipped away from talk radio now that President Clinton is gone most assuredly fell back in line. That can only boost ad revenues. And if some of that slips into the robes of the judges of the 9th Circuit, well, how's anybody gonna prove the connection?
Why else would the judges venture into an argument that up until Wednesday was fodder only for college debating societies and atheist conventions?
Politicians of both parties darned near pulled muscles getting out statements condemning the ruling. President Bush called the ruling "ridiculous." U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) termed it "just nuts." What are the chances that the ruling will be cited in the political speeches on the Fourth of July?
What are the chances that the case already is the centerpiece of political fund-raising appeals? What would have been news is if an elected official issued a press release supporting the ruling.
"It's about time," said Sen. Hy Fallutin, just before being recalled from office.
Of course, inserting "under God" in the pledge is a technical violation of the establishment clause in the First Amendment. But so is having tax-funded chaplains open Congress with a prayer. So is having "In God We Trust" on our money. So is having sessions of the U.S. Supreme Court open with the phrase "God save the United States and this honorable court."
But courts in the past have ruled that these prayers are so ingrained in tradition that they lack "significant religious content." Because of that, they do not place the force of the government behind one religion.
Jethro Lieberman, in his book "The Evolving Constitution," noted that the Supreme Court has usually "shrugged off the issue," at least since it ruled in 1943 that schoolchildren cannot be required to recite the pledge. In accordance with that ruling, Washington state law requires only that objectors "maintain a respectful silence" while it is being given by other students.
The chances that the 9th Circuit decision will be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court are remote. The top court just upheld Ohio's state motto: "With God, all things are possible." The three-judge panel that ruled on the pledge case Wednesday could well be overturned by the other judges of its own appeals court.
With hope, by then, talk radio and the politicians will have something else to get lathered up about, perhaps even another decision from the always interesting 9th Circuit.
Peter Callaghan: 253-597-8657
peter.callaghan@mail.tribnet.com
It's so ridiculous, I thought of placing it under political humor.
In Tacoma, everything is blamed on talk-radio.
This a-hole wouldn't know what the establishment clause was about if it jumped up and bit him in the ... well I guess I can't say that here.
Yep. Just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean that everyone is NOT out to get you....
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One point to take from his column is the idea that many conservatives are going to go into the election of this fall full tilt on this issue. While it is important to hold numerous Congressional feet to the fire, and also to raise campaign funds with this hot button, it needs to be remembered that this issue will not be glowing as brightly after the summer and early fall have passed. There's a shock value right now, that will have worn off by not only the passage of time, but the chances that this decision will have been reversed either judicially or legislatively by that point in time. Democrats are not going to take the bait on this one, they're most careful to be lining up in droves on this one, no matter what they personally feel about it. This will be a relative non-issue by the fall, surely whatever is happening in Iraq, Israel, or Islam will have more immediate force on Election Day.
Just the observations of someone who has seen the American public's attention span shrink markedly over the last couple of decades.
But I am still amazed at the piece. I was visiting in Tacoma yesterday. A friend that lives there says there are others besides Callaghan that seem to drum up issues and connect them with talk-radio. What is it with talk-radio phobia in Tacoma?
1- the "pledge issue." It went Nuclear-Hot so fast it was unbelievable, and while the Left is moving fast to defuse it, it has done a lot of damage.
2- the "wildfires issue." Every living thing fears wildfire, and it perfectly illustrates years of muddle-headed mismanagement.
3- the "waste, fraud, and abuse issue." The Left is desperately trying to draw attention away by using the "WorldCom" and other corporate abuses and fraud, but the Government is the real heavy hitter in this department. They can't even account for their own ( our! ) money!
It's not just Tacoma, but all over Western Washington. We have a very effective conservative radio station (KVI) that has a LOT of listeners. Many have bumper stickers and licence plate frames on their vehicles, and they do a pretty fair job of keeping some of the local politicians from drifting completely off to socialism. Surely, this station absolutely infuriates the left. Hence, the phobia, but KVI always wants them to BRING IT ON!
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