John Roberts has failed to uphold pre-confirmation pledge.
By on Jun 29th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
John Roberts has failed to uphold pre-confirmation pledge.
“With his third term as chief justice coming to a close amid three explosive cases last week, John Roberts has proved to be almost everything conservatives hoped and liberals feared.” The Chicago Tribune recalls his pledge in 2005: “I come before this committee with no agenda, no platform. I will approach every case with an open mind.” Yet, “in his three years on the court, Roberts has never sided with the more liberal members against his conservative brethren in a close case.”
Update At the end of the last Court term, the Center for American Progress produced an anlysis showing that both Roberts and Alito voted together nearly 90 percent of the time.
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I said this would happen the day his nomination was put forth.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:27 pmChief Justice Roberts is a liar.
He perjured himself in front of Congress.
That’s against the law.
Chief Justice Roberts is a criminal.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:51 pmI wonder if someone like Roberts will come to respect the past more as he ages. He is a youngish man as SC justices go, we can only hope that age brings his wisdom. Or that he is impeached.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:56 pmWhen Obama wins, can we please impeach some of these ideologue yahoos?
June 29th, 2008 at 10:59 pmNo one could have predicted!
June 29th, 2008 at 11:06 pmWho could have guessed otherwise?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:08 pmOT, but as per the FOX News ratings decline below:
Bring back the Fairness Doctrine, and we will drive them out of business.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pmUh, Walt, here’s hoping that 1) you weren’t referencing my joke and 2) somehow you KNEW it was a joke…
Don’t make me explain it, please?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:10 pmI always felt my Sen., Ron Wyden, was a gem until the day he fell for Robert’s lies and helped confirm him.
Right here at TP the LIES were discussed, petitions were sent out, phone calls made… the LIES were fully disclosed.
Of course Robert’s has/had an agenda.. why couldn’t those senators see that?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:12 pmDoes anyone remember the premise of “The Pelican Brief”?
For a pacifist, I sure do get some evil thoughts. And I’d like to thank BushCo for turning my heart.
But I’m ready to believe again…
PEACE
June 29th, 2008 at 11:13 pmRoberts is a corporatist, guided by other corporatists to answer the questions that got him on the court. Repubs learned alot from the rejection of R. Borq as a SC justice.
Answers before the Judicial committee will yield no results in the future. Senators must confirm to the Scotus on the basis of past case law. It is the only true way to know how these judges will vote in the future. ( And no more effin’ Federalists. )
And another Grisham book that addresses Supreme Court cases is called the Appeal. But don’t read it on a full stomach.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:24 pmThere are many locked up in the Federal Pen that have more respect for the rule of law and have less of an ax to grind than this Corpratist shill. We can’t allow McCain to have the opportunity to further pack the court with these zealous right wing judges. How about a few true legal scholars?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:26 pmWeren’t we jumping up and down, waving our arms and yelling, No! No! to Roberts AND Alito — but no one paid us attention.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:30 pmObama voted against Roberts.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:34 pmObama voted against Alito.
Activist Judges, HOW can we accept Activist Judges. Oh, wait, as long as they are Activist in the Repug favor, then they are OK! Whew, now I understand.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:58 pmRoverts will be a stain on American Jurisprudence for decades.
No More McIIIrds.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:01 amIs anyone surprised about this?
Unfortunately, being a weasel in this fashion is NOT an impeachable offense (although perhaps some of Scalia’s conflicts of interest should be investigated).
Remind people of this if they threaten to vote for McCain over a Hilary snub or water down the left-vote by voting Green or Nader.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:12 amthe democrats put Roberts on the court. They could have stopped him, but they did not, and in fact, a whole lot of democratic senators voted to confirm him!! So now everyone is in a state about what a right wing prick Robert has turned out to be. how pathetic!!
June 30th, 2008 at 12:23 amWhen Roberts says “I will approach every case with an open mind,” it’s like when Fox News uses the phrase “fair and balanced”. Neither is true, but those who view the world with a very narrow perspective skewed toward an extreme might convince themselves otherwise.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:27 amevole,
The Dems are not solely responsible for this f uck up.
Just sayin’….
June 30th, 2008 at 12:28 amWas there any ever any doubt…really?
Zooey – the Dems are just as responsible as the Repubs…and as “wee the sheeple” …
June 30th, 2008 at 12:33 amBnF,
They just try to make out like ONLY the Dems voted this loser in. There’s enough blame to go around.
I’m sick of the whole thing.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:40 amThe not-so-supreme court is a fcuking joke.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:52 amWould it not be easier to just post as a daily headline, “Bush government totally corrupt and criminal”, that would be true and we could tell congress to rollover and piss on themselves so Bush knows he is Alfa Dog.
Gawd, I hate losing faith in any kind of resemblence of what we used to be.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:59 amWith a new justice almost surely to chosen by the nexr president, it’s imperative to make sure no more conservatives are seated. They have little regard for the constitution, or established precedent.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:09 amChief Justice Roberts is a LIAR! I knew he was lying when he said he would be fair. He’s nothing but a conservative idiot. Any man who bases his judicial decisions on party idealogy isn’t fit to be on the Supreme Court. The weak ass Democrats do this all of the time. They sit there and go along with these judges who aren’t open minded and they know they are being lied to when they say they will be open minded. The sad thing is the very same judges expect witnesses to tell the truth when they come to court, but they sit in a confirmation hearing and lie through their teeth.
Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas a all liars and have no honor. I don’t see how any of these liars sleep at night knowing they lied to get on the Supreme Court. Anyone who thinks as they do that he’s always right and everyone else is wrong is not only a fool, but a damned fool. They also claim to be religious, but when they go to hell, I’m sure they won’t be surprised. This is exactly why Presidents should just randomly pick judges based on experience and not idealogy. The Congress should also impeach Judges who say one thing during confirmation and then do the opposite once they get on the court. This has been the most dishonest Supreme Court in American history. I hope that Roberts, Aliton, Thomas, and Scalia are happy about telling a lie to get a job. They have no honor and are basically lying coward dogs. In my opinion they are beneath contempt and lower than a pig.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:21 amI’ve posted as many cases as I could find in a day. I hope it helps prove that these lying bastards really don’t take prisoners. I hope it helps.
http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/06/activist-conservative-supreme-court.html
June 30th, 2008 at 1:28 amCOnsidering their pro-corporatist favoritism, maybe they should be known as the Supreme Courtiers.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:30 amA tip of the cap to “liberal” fascistic Democrats such a Feinstein, for their gutless treason to our Bill of Rights in letting right-wing slime such as Roberts get confirmed to our Supreme Court. These vicious vile right-wingers are not “conservatives.” What have they ever “conserved?” Corporate fascism? They are radical destructionists, aimed at destroying our America and creating a corporatist police station.
These Supreme Clowns can be impeached, tried, convicted and removed for any grounds at all: impeachment is purely political, there are no legal standards or limitations: see Clinton Impeachment. All you need are enough votes in the House and Senate…
June 30th, 2008 at 1:42 amIt`s not like we expected anything else with this guy and the other Fascist Puppets on the court.Once Obama wins, it`s all over.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:13 amEcho Oval #31!
June 30th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Are you serious?? Someone thought a conservative would keep his word? That’s the really sad thing . . . the Dems just keep sucking their dicks and they keep sticking em in us. Conservatives are not human and yet the Dems are proving they are not much different. The approve and take impeachment off the table. I have no use for any of them on either side except the select few who do have the courage to fight. They are the only patriots left. And if any of you think you are in America any more . . . you need to pay attention.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:40 amif mccain wins, we have more justices like this to look forward to….
with that seugeway in mind.,. let me make the annoucement.. someone in a positiion of authority FINALLY came out and said it…Getting shot down does not qualify someone to be president.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/29/clark.mccain/index.html
I REALLY want clark to be VP. webb would be good too, except hes made some misogynisitic comments in print, in the past, that would really be a burden on obama..
with clarks military experience, he can rag on mccain all day, and probably make mccains head explode in anger before novemeber is even close.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:44 amThank you Harry bent-over Reid for letting this happen to the SCOTUS and, along with Namby Pamby-losi, for ineffective oversight of the Executive branch which let them continue to get away with politicizing the Judiciary.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:33 amNow there’s a shocker.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:50 amThis might be news if anyone with more than two neurons to rub together didn’t know it already.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:03 amChief Justice Roberts should be impeached for lying to Congress. After all, lying to Congress was considered an impeachable offense for a president so it should also apply to a member of the Supreme Court.
June 30th, 2008 at 7:58 amThis is a silly and useless post. No one is completely impartial. Everyone brings their own leanings and prejudices to every issue. If he had conservative views before there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t maintain them. Do you actually think people are impartial? They can be fair, but not impartial.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:05 amI know it’s difficult for a Republican to understand, since lying is the natural state of existance for you.
The problem, you see, is that he claimed to be impartial. In other words, HE LIED!
June 30th, 2008 at 8:34 am#28 The Shadow,
June 30th, 2008 at 8:38 amI have come to the conclusion that when it comes to politics, Repugnicans are ideological reactionaries; they do not have a conscience, no moral compass, and no ability to see issues beyond their own narrow views.
I resisted such generalization, but it has been proven so time after time from the trolls to the SCOTUS and the POTUS – when it comes to politics, they are unprincipled.
The right wing simply does not believe they have to tell the truth to anyone not of their group. In fact, they believe it is their duty to lie in order to advance their aims and that truthfulness is a weakness.
When I read this story in Sunday’s Chicago Trib, I was incredulous that anyone in the media could possibly be surprised that any right wing public figure would not be truthful, even under oath, especially after the past nearly eight years. What would have been surprising is if Roberts had told the truth. These are evil people and simply cannot be trusted with any government power whatsoever.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:46 amRoberts Lied? No shit? Really? no, i mean REALLY REALLY? He lied to the Senate?
June 30th, 2008 at 8:53 amNahhhhh, that couldn’t happen, could it?
Vincennes said:
“Do you actually think people are impartial? They can be fair, but not impartial.”
And Roberts is not even being fair. Roberts knowingly lied to Congress when he said he would be impartial and once confirmed he looked at every case in a pro-corporate / anti-human being prejudice.
Are you aware that during the hearing for Exxon’s case to reduce their appropriate fine, Roberts asked the Exxon lawyer, “So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?” He was very unhappy with the answer, “It can hire fit and competent people.”
You are aware that the fine Exxon was contesting was LESS than it’s profits for one single quarter of a year, right? Exxon could EASILY afford it without even writing a check, they could have paid that fine in cash!
Roberts had already decided the case before he even heard the arguments! He’s not even trying to conceal his impartiality, he feels comfortable enough with his prejudice to openly say so in court.
Every member of the Federalist Society has a clear agenda that they bring to the court – side with the extremely wealthy and with corporate interests. Precedent and common sense and the law be damned.
If Roberts had been truthful before Congress, he would not have been sitting in court looking for an excuse to overturn the fine that was intended to reimburse small businesses for their devastation at the hands of Exxon. Now those small businesses will get almost nothing, thanks to Roberts disdain for the Rule of Law.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:55 amif mccain wins, we have more justices like this to look forward to…….
I don’t think it’ll matter a whit who the next Preznint is. The Pukes will filibuster any nominee who isn’t ideologically compliant…
June 30th, 2008 at 8:56 amtokin,
June 30th, 2008 at 8:59 amThe Dems must get a filibuster proof majority in Congress and override all efforts to sabotage the Obama administration.
@#47, Marie says the Dims gotta lock up a filibuster-proof majority.
which is a pipe-dream.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:04 amdoes ANYONE really believe the CorpoRats will so easily foresake their lock on the Senate?
Wanna buy a bridge? Got a nice one, over the Mississippi, in Wisconsin…
I’m shocked, I tell you, just shocked. Who could have predicted something like this?
Oh….wait….
June 30th, 2008 at 9:07 amWhatever, what did you idiots expect? you couldn’t see this coming a mile away? And now that the Dems realize the errors of their ways what have they done – agreed to confirm most of his blocked nominees for various other posts. The idea that the Dems oppose the GOP is a fairy tale along the lines of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:29 am>He was very unhappy with the answer, “It can hire fit and >competent people.”
Yeah that reply actually got some laughter in the court..Zing!
Poor little corporations, they have to hire non-drunkards to pilot thier weapons of mass desctruction. boohoo
June 30th, 2008 at 9:49 amRoberts’s Rules:
June 30th, 2008 at 11:05 am
At least John Roberts is awake during court sessions, unlike that waste of space Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Google it.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:25 pmAnd you are pleased with the repugnican party, Tanqueray?
June 30th, 2008 at 2:06 pmI don’t believe an Obama presidency will bring us any more of the ilk we have in Roberts, Alito, Scalia and Thomas.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pmtanqueray says: there aren’t enough of you to accomplish anything
We have been in the majority all along. Theft of 2 elections and media blackout just makes you “think” otherwise.
[I use the term "think," in your case, very loosely.]
June 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm