Vice President Dick Cheney has basically dissed House Majority Leader Tom Delay comments on court judges — and also thrown ice-cold water on a hot boomlet promoted by commentators and some GOPers for him to run for the top office in 1008.
If I was Tom DeLay today I might accurately conclude I had a bit less suppport on one of my key issues:
Vice President Cheney says he opposes revenge against judges for their refusal to prolong the life of the late Terri Schiavo, although he did not criticize House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for declaring that they will “answer for their behavior.”
Cheney was asked about the issue on Friday by the editorial board of the New York Post. He said twice that he had not seen DeLay’s remarks, but the vice president said he would “have problems” with the idea of retribution against the courts. “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he said. “I may disagree with decisions made by judges in any one particular case. But I don’t think there would be much support for the proposition that because a judge hands down a decision we don’t like, that somehow we ought to go out — there’s a reason why judges get lifetime appointments.”
In fact, that has been the general attitude of politicians on both sides of issues and people involved in legal cases: when people lose a case they don’t go after the judges. There is a “given” about the legitimacy of a court decision. It’s part of our constitutional heritage that makes us a democracy with a consensus about rules-of-the-game that are accepted. If one side gets power they don’t suddenly get to toss out judges who don’t rule the way they like — or at least that’s the way our country has functioned…and attempts to change that abruptly (such as FDR trying to pack the court) have failed.
Cheney also had this message for those claiming he really will be run or can be convinced to run:””I’m not a candidate, don’t plan to be a candidate,” he said. “If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve. Is that the Shermanesque statement? I said on television someplace the other day, not only no, but hell no.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.