Democrats vs Chief Justice Roberts

Things have been (rightfully) tense between Democrats and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court since the Court's controversial decision on corporate campaign finance.

Most famously President Obama chastised the Court for its decision during his State of the Union Address. On Tuesday, Roberts responded by saying the scene at President Obama's first State of the Union address was "very
troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a
political pep rally."

From Huffington Post:
Roberts said anyone is free to criticize the court and that some have an
obligation to do so because of their positions.

"So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is the
issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the
members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the
Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court – according the
requirements of protocol – has to sit there expressionless, I think is very
troubling."

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Today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hit back with remarks of his own.

Also from Huffington Post:

On Wednesday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was "so
disappointed" with the Court's swing vote -- Justice Anthony M. Kennedy -- for
enabling the court's rightward, corporatist tilt. As for Chief Justice John
Roberts, the majority leader castigated him as being out of touch and completely
detached from political reality.

"Do you think John Roberts knows or cares how people get elected?" he said,
referring to the role the chief justice played in crafting the court's Citizens
United decision.


Insisting that the court was engaged in "activism" for allowing corporations
to spend unlimited amounts of money on congressional campaigns, the Nevada
Democrat insisted that the time had come to stop appointing judges to the bench.


"I think we've had enough of them," he said. "I think what we need are people on
that bench who have been legislators, people who are lawyers, people who are
academics. You look at our Supreme Court and all these people, all they know is
working with people in black robes. We have got to change that."
---

President Obama's remarks on the Court's decision during his State of the Union Address


The full article on Chief Robert's comments
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/john-roberts-scene-at-oba_n_492444.html

The full article on Senator Reid's comments
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/harry-reid-slams-supreme_n_493532.html

Nov. 3rd Elections

If you've missed it, the big story in politics right now is the Republicans sweeping hotly contested elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. Republicans are, of course, claiming this is a referendum on the entire Obama agenda.


The Huffington Post-

"Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008."


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/virginia-governors-race-2_n_344576.html

The Republicans won some governor positions. Congratulations. But as to this being a referendum on President Obama?


CBS News-

A majority of voters in both states said they are worried about the direction of the nation’s economy over the next year. 85 percent of Virginia voters said they are worried, as are 90 percent of voters in New Jersey. These percentages were similar on Election Day in 2008.

In both states the economy topped the list of issues that mattered most to voters in their choice for governor – in Virginia health care was second, while in New Jersey the second choice was property taxes.


Still, majorities of voters in both states (55 percent in Virginia and 60 percent in New Jersey) said President Obama was not a factor in their vote today. Those who said Mr. Obama was a factor in New Jersey divided as to whether their vote was a vote for the president (19 percent) or against him (20 percent). In Virginia, slightly fewer voters said their vote was for Mr. Obama (18 percent) than against him (24 percent).


http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/03/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5514455.shtml


Also, in other news, the so called Conservative candidate in the New York congressional race that forced the RNC endorsed Republican candidate out of the race lost to Democrat Bill Owens. The story was significant because after the Republican party officially endorsed the Republican candidate Dierdre Scozzafava, Sarah Palin went rogue and endorsed the Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman (the Conservative candidate was essentially a representative of the tea party factions, as it has been explained). After all the drama, the Democrat won anyway.


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/bill-owens-leads-doug-hof_n_344776.html