I thought we did.
Will somebody kindly tell Senator John Cornyn?
Sen. Cornyn has now seemingly given a perfect mental fig leaf for every nut on the right OR ON THE LEFT who wants to physically take out a judge (or the judge’s family) with whom he or she disagrees. All Cornyn needed to add in his execrable remarks was the “Twinkie defense.”
In a Senate floor speech in which he sharply criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling on the death penalty, Cornyn (R-Tex.) — a former Texas Supreme Court justice and member of the Judiciary Committee — said Americans are growing increasingly frustrated by what he describes as activist jurists.
“It causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions,” he said. Sometimes, he said, “the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policymaker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people.”
Cornyn continued: “I don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence. Certainly without any justification, but a concern that I have.”
Cornyn, who spoke in a nearly empty chamber, did not specify cases of violence against judges. Two fatal episodes made headlines this year, although authorities said the motives appeared to be personal, not political. In Chicago, a man fatally shot the husband and mother of a federal judge who had ruled against him in a medical malpractice suit. And in Atlanta last month, a man broke away from a deputy and fatally shot four people, including the judge presiding over his rape trial.
Notice, again, that an “activist judge” is someone who rules they way you don’t like; a NON-activist judge is someone with whom you agree. Get it?
Here’s the truly terrible issue with his remarks: a LINE has now been crossed. Will people in the GOP and the Democratic party repudiate his remarks and redraw the line?
If our consensus in this country that we don’t condone or rationalize terrorist acts or violence against those with whom we disagree breaks down we are in huge trouble — and this isn’t a partisan issue.
UPDATE: His remarks are now getting a lot of attention in the media and in the blogosophere.
The Washington Post’s long account linked above includes this:
Cornyn spokesman Don Stewart declined to speculate on what instances of violence the senator had in mind. “He was talking about things that have come up and concerned him,” Stewart said.
In his speech, Cornyn criticized the Supreme Court’s 5 to 4 decision on March 1 that said it is unconstitutional to execute people who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. “In so holding,” Cornyn said, “the U.S. Supreme Court said: We are no longer going to leave this in the hands of jurors. We do not trust jurors. We are no longer going to leave this up to the elected representatives of the people of the respective states.”
In a recent New York Times article, John Kane, a senior judge in the U.S. District Court for Colorado, wrote: “Since 1970, 10 state and federal judges have been murdered, seven of them in job-related incidents. Those who threaten judges are almost always disturbed individuals seeking revenge. . . . Of the three federal judges killed in the last quarter-century, all were killed by men disgruntled with their treatment from the federal judicial system.”
HERE IS A CROSS SECTION OF SOME OTHER VOICES ON THIS ISSUE:
—Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit:
If you need proof that some Republicans are just as dumb as some Democrats, this is it. Now if there are further attacks on judges, Cornyn — and the Republicans — will be blamed. What’s more, to some degree they’ll deserve it.
To quote Ari Fleischer’s underappreciated remarks, people need to be careful what they say. The notion — popular in some circles on the right — that dishonest or result-oriented behavior by some judges justifies an all-out war against the judiciary, or even the idea of an independent judiciary, is un-conservative, and for that matter un-American.
It is really a shame how little people understand of the reasons judges decide cases the way they do. DeLay and Cornyn, like many others, signal to the public to think that the judges are simply out of control and the cases are inexplicable as the serious work of deeply thoughtful persons steeped in the legal tradition. It wouldn’t be wise just to assume that judges are unerring oracles of law, but to leap to the opposite conclusion and decide they are frauds is even more foolish. And for a public figure even to hint at violence as a solution is completely unacceptable.
–The addicting “video blogger” site Crooks and Liars has an excellent round up of links and adds:”These guys are “way, way, way” beyond the crossing point. Are they so worried about Tom Delay that it’s now open season on judges to cover his tracks?”
—Americablog calls on Cornyn to resign (it’ll never happen by the way) in a long post. Part 4 U:
We now have Republican Senators making excuses for terrorists. Explaining why terrorism is understandable. Why terrorists have legitimate concerns. Justifying why the victims of terrorism are really to blame for these heinous crimes. Wonder what Senator Cornyn thinks of rape victims?
This is utterly outrageous. Outrageous. The GOP is now embracing domestic terrorists who are trying to undermine our democracy. And they’re doing it so they can take down the judges who “killed” Terri Schiavo, and instead impose some Pat Robertson-like theocracy on our country. This is absolutely utterly beyond contempt. Tell Judge Lefkow in Chicago that her mother and husband are dead because she brought it on herself.
—Balkinization:”It’s difficult to see why Cornyn would make so asinine a comment if he had not intended to send the message that federal judges should watch what they do from now on. This cannot be put down to an offhand remark or mere abstract speculation. It was in a speech on the Senate floor made by a seasoned politician. Cornyn knew exactly what he was doing.”
—Norbizness:”Assuming you’re talking about the federal judiciary, those are lifetime appointments. You actually had a hand in confirming them in your role as a Senator. You also have an extraordinary measure called impeachment that you can use against these rogue judges who are thwarting the stupid voices in your head (Ironically, you are trying to remove the filibuster through the nuclear option for the craziest 5% of Bush’s judicial appointees, so it’s safe to say that accountability isn’t a constant concern of yours).”
—Obsidian Wings:”Stupid, stupid, stupid. If you think that the existence of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict doesn’t provide a good excuse for intentionally blowing up coffee shops don’t even think of nodding your head to this bit of idiocy.”
—Off The Cuff:”Please, Senator Cornyn, explain to me what unaccountable political decisions Joan Lefkow and Rowland Barnes made which brought on the violence against them and their families. While you’re at it, please explain to me if you think they deserved it. You are a disgrace, John Cornyn. I cannot express my contempt strongly enough.”
—Talk Left:”Sen. Cornyn is a member of the Judiciary Committee as well as a former Texas supreme court justice and attorney general. This kind of talk is unacceptable.”
—Digby:”These guys are selling protection, saying that they would hate to see something happen to these judges who won’t cooperate but sadly, unless they do there’s not much they can do about it….I was particularly intrigued to see that Cornyn’s statement very specifically mentions the Supreme Court but makes no distinction amongst the Justices. He might want to start being a little bit more specific lest some anti-judicial activism nut fails to distinguish between the good guys and the bad and blows away the wrong judge. This is just sloppy, very sloppy.”
—Matthew Yglesias:
I’ve already seen some folks on the right try to explain this away. He was just offering an analytic point, noting the existence of anger about some judicial decisions, some anti-judge violence, and offering some speculations. Sure he was. Nevermind that he and his ilk are the ones whipping up the anger. It wouldn’t cross his mind to tone down and suggest that his colleagues do likewise. Suggest that in the wake of some murders and some controversial court cases that we all agree that we are a country under law and that despite disagreements we should respect judicial offices and their holders. No. Far better to note that there may be a connection between non-Cornyn-approved court rulings and the murder of judges. He’s just trying to be helpful.
Now let’s be clear. It is men and women like Cornyn who have been stirring up this sort of anti-republican (small “r”), quasi-revolutionary rhetoric. Cornyn tells more in this quote than he’d like to admit. It is precisely is disdain for checks and balances that ratifies the violent behavior he purports to condemn (or in this case, “explain”). Dozens of Texas militiamen hear his hyperbolic rhetoric about how the republic is collapsing and stand ready to take arms in assault of the judiciary. Of course he doesn’t explicitly endorse it. I’m sure he doesn’t even privately agree. But his rhetoric acts as a powerful form of encouragement, and his continuance of it even after death threats and bounties on the judge in the Schiavo case, is simply deplorable.
—Kevin Drumm:”You know that recent spate of courtroom violence we’ve had? It’s pretty understandable, really, says United States Senator John Cornyn…(He quotes Cornyn)..Yeah, that’s a reasonable response to “unaccountable” judges, isn’t it?”
—Brad Plummer:”Oh sure, sure Republicans all say they’re dead-set against using international models for our courts, but after one of their standing Senators all but endorsed killing judges earlier today, coupled with Tom DeLay’s own little threats against the judiciary, it really does seem like we’ll have to start looking abroad to see what’s in store for the American legal system. Let’s see, so many fine examples to choose from…” So he gives you some foreign examples that Cornyn and DeLay probably DO prefer…(READ IT ALL)
—QandO runs an old, also irresponsible Tom Daschel quote. (PS: Because you have two irresponsible people — one with a D in front of his name and one with a R in front of his name doesn’t mean both aren’t wrong. Daschle’s comment doesn’t make Cornyn’s any more excuseable..and Tom D is no longer in the Senate. Cornyn is irresponsible and deserves the repudiation of people of both parties and independents — particularly in the present climate where judges have been under attack and received life threats. NO EXCUSE and Daschle’s old quote doesn’t change things one iota).
—Daily Kos:”Violence against judges is nothing short of domestic terrorism. And Cornyn (along with DeLay and their ilk) are nothing more than apologists for such violence. The GOP’s war on the judiciary is now entering dangerous territory.”
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.