Posted on 06/26/2002 7:35:25 PM PDT by kattracks
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said late Wednesday that the two judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional should be removed from the judiciary.
"These two judges are so out of touch with reality that they should be kicked off the bench," Gingrich told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."
Bristling at the harsh penalty, "H & C" co-host Alan Colmes protested, "For one decision? You kick judges off if you don't like one decision they make?"
"Absolutely," Gingrich shot back. "Look, this decision goes to the heart of what kind of a country we are."
"A judge who believes that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional is unfit to be a federal judge," he contended.
Nixon appointee Justice Alfred T. Goodwin wrote the majority opinion for the 9th Circuit, saying that the words "under God" violated the Constitution's Establishment Clause. Carter appointee Justice Stephen Reinhardt concurred.
Justice Ferdinand F. Fernandez, who was appointed by President Bush's father, offered the lone dissenting vote.
The Bush Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Exactly. The judge is in need of impeachment.
He says he's speaking today in an emergency broadcast while still on vacation.
1) Newt lost to a better, more glib, more evil, lying, strategically-thinking, purposely provocational sociopath -- Bill Clinton. I cannot hardly fault the man for that.
2) Even if you said was true, and I disagree with it -- the facts are he still speaks the truth.
A "state church" involved being required to be a member in order to vote, own property, sit in parliament, attend Oxford & Cambridge, and be exempt from punitive taxes or, in some cases, arrest or execution. It has nothing to do with the mere mentioning of "God" or generic civic prayer or the like. It certainly has nothing to do with "voluntary" speech which refers to God, the soul, or other religious or spiritual verities. These judges are ignorant of history. If the Constitution's establishment clause had banned civic prayer then obviously Congress would not have had a tradition of engaging in such (as it clearly has throughout history).
I agree. So much promise so stupidly wasted. And such a vile Clintonian when it comes to personal decency. What a self-aggrandizing pig.
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