Posted on 07/04/2012 1:05:06 PM PDT by robowombat
York: For conservatives, the question: Who is John Roberts? July 2, 2012
Byron York Chief Political Correspondent The Washington Examiner
In the wake of Chief Justice John Roberts' stunning about-face in the Obamacare case, conservatives who follow judicial issues are asking themselves: Did we ever really know Roberts? Did we get him wrong?
Those nagging questions have led Republicans to think back to Roberts' rise through the Washington legal world from White House lawyer to the nation's highest court.
Roberts had solid Republican credentials. He served in both the Reagan White House counsel's office and, later, in the Justice Department under President George H.W. Bush.
In January 1992 Bush nominated Roberts to a place -- Clarence Thomas' old seat -- on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Many observers thought one conservative would be replacing another.
Certainly the Democrats who controlled the Senate saw it that way. Spotting Roberts as a future Republican star, they resolved to kill the nomination. And with the 1992 election approaching, they saw no reason to confirm a final-year Bush appointee when they could instead stall and see if a Democrat won the White House. Once Bill Clinton was elected, Roberts' court hopes were dead.
But Roberts was just 37 years old. He could wait -- which he did, through eight years of the Clinton administration.
In May 2001, President George W. Bush renominated Roberts for the D.C. Circuit Court. Again, he faced determined Democratic opposition, and his nomination went nowhere.
By the time Republicans won control of the Senate, in November 2002, Roberts had waited a decade for a seat on the appeals court. In the ugly atmosphere of the war over judges, Roberts became the poster boy for Republican anger at the Democratic blockade of Bush judicial nominees.
In us-versus-them politics, Roberts became "our guy" for Republicans. Determining his credentials as a philosophical conservative became less important than simply winning the confirmation fight for the GOP team.
In addition, Republican senators loved Roberts as a nominee because he was easy to defend. He didn't have any past scandals, and, since he had never been a judge, didn't have any quirky rulings to explain.
As a matter of fact, besides his glittering academic credentials and impressive resume, there wasn't a lot to say about Roberts. "He wasn't one of those who wrote op-eds and law review articles, and he didn't give speeches on issues," says one former Senate Republican aide involved in Roberts' appeals court confirmation. "He flew under the radar," says another former GOP aide who was also involved.
Still, with connections to Reagan, both Bushes and lots of Republicans, there seemed little reason to doubt Roberts' conservative bona fides. With Republicans in control of the Senate, he was confirmed to the circuit court in May 2003.
Yet two years later, when Bush nominated Roberts to the Supreme Court, little things -- or maybe not so little things -- popped up to make conservatives uneasy.
In the confirmation process, it emerged that Roberts, as a private attorney, had done pro bono work for Lambda Legal, the gay advocacy group that was fighting what became a key homosexual rights case, Romer v. Evans.
Roberts also troubled some conservatives by the positions he argued on behalf of plaintiffs in the giant antitrust case against Microsoft.
And while it was at first reported that Roberts had been a member of the Federalist Society -- standard procedure for conservative lawyers -- it turned out he had never, in fact, joined the group.
Roberts and his supporters -- among them Steve Schmidt, the operative chosen by the Bush White House to shepherd Roberts' nomination through the Senate before later going on to run John McCain's presidential campaign -- argued that Roberts was simply working as a lawyer, representing his clients as best he could, and his work didn't say anything about his judicial philosophy.
But that judicial philosophy wasn't really clear. "His ideological opinions he certainly kept to himself," says one of those former Senate aides. "He was a blank slate because he had represented so many different sides," says the other.
The public debate over Roberts echoed those private doubts. As Roberts sought confirmation, conservative commentators as varied as Charles Krauthammer and Ann Coulter called him a "tabula rasa."
In the end, Roberts just didn't give Democrats much of a target. He was confirmed, 78-22, in September 2005. Among those 22 Democrats who voted against Roberts were then-Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Now Roberts has given Obama the biggest court victory of his presidency. But to uphold Obamacare, the chief justice had to execute logical twists and turns that left conservatives wondering what they really knew about him all along.
Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent, can be contacted at byork@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on washingtonexaminer.com.
Very well put. And what’s scary is we’re stuck with this guy for probably the next 20 years. Consider also that he has now completely burned his bridges with conservatives and no longer has much reason to try to please us. He can’t become any more despised than he already is. I could easily imagine him seeking refuge with the other side from this point forward.
Yeah, the truly frightening thing about that is it means we maybe stuck with another Warren Court and they nearly destroyed our nation.
I also know that the Senate failed in their duty to vet him... but then it is rare when they don't fail.
LLS
I Kings 3: Bet the folks were just as hysterical when the judge ordered the sword and told them to divide the baby.
We the People are the mothers...Let's see who truly loves this country.
In the mean time there are Senators to elect and a Resident to replace.
Not death threats - blackmail.
And it doesn’t have to be something about him - maybe a loved one.
to the point... He’s a Dick Head...
That too but....
Roberts may be suffering from a subconscious behavior called Anosognosia,,,interestingly enough the victim is clueless about his brain impairment. Neuroscientist, David Eagleman, at Baylor College of Medicine wrote a book, “Incognito”. An exerpt can be found in Discover Magazine, issued in September 2011 describing this condition....it fits Justice Roberts to a T. I would post it here, but not sure about copyright laws.
By the way, in the case you present, it would take character to stand up to it. That’s why America thrived as a Christian nation. Our leaders were God fearing men once upon a time.
“Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.”
- John Adams -
I don’t hear Steve Schmidt apologizing for Roberts.
Schmidt has already admitted that he is pro-gay. He is probably gay.
How in the world did McCain let this guy have anything to do with his campaign especially after knowing that he worked for Bush?
More likely they are in collusion. Much wiser to take when you figure out both parties have the same long term goals. Absolute power.
Do we really think Romney won't do the same thing?
Two parties one goal, life is easier when you resign yourself to that fact. The worst decision in the history and everyone goes on holiday, only in Amerika.
I know what he did. My point was since he cannot be “un”elected the whole discussion is pointless except as a venting mechanism.
Assuring that a scoundrel is seen by history as a scoundrel is not a 'venting mechanism', as you contemptuously label it. It is a tried and true method of holding people accountable for their actions.
My advice is to get used to it. It's just getting started.
C and MM, in case you missed this.
>>>I don’t know (or remember if I ever did know) whether Schmidt is a perv himself or just pro-perve. I’m starting to suspect Roberts is a perv.<<<
Here's the thread containing pics and info about Roberts' old roommate (who is teaching with him in Malta).
There is nothing to get used to and I was just making an observation that you cannot put the toothpaste back into the tube in this case.
There was nothing “contemptuous about my comment except in your mind. As I said I made an observation.
Thanks - the whole thread is eye opening. Looks very clear to me that Roberts is a closeted perv.
Good buddy or room mate in the 80s just married another man. Did pro bono work for Lambda Legal fag organization. Married at age 41, two adopted kids (another problem there, too). Photo of the three friends in Martha’s Vineyard without a gal in sight and looking fey.
Vacations in Malta every year with another old buddy/room mate and doesn’t bring wifey and kids along. Really, really strange.
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