Following President Obama’s unseemly attack on members of the Supreme Court because of their ruling in Citizens United v. FEC during this year’s State of the Union address, a whole chorus of liberals, including Obama’s press secretary, congressional Democrats, the editorial writers of the New York Times, and a number of radical organizations like People for the American Way (enough liberals to fill the Mormon Tabernacle Choir — except that would be a violation of the separation of church and statists) have been attacking Chief Justice Roberts and his band of merry conservative brethren as “judicial activists.” Sen. Arlen Specter (Retired by the voters, Pa.) even launched a broadside against Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito last week on the floor of the Senate that unfairly and illegitimately portrays them as having “cavalierly set aside” the assurances they gave in their confirmation hearings of “fidelity to the law” and the principle of stare decisis in the Citizens United decision.
Just like the Liberal Chorus of critics, Specter’s statement shows ignorance of the long line of Supreme Court precedents overturning bans on independent expenditures prior to Citizens United and the many “liberal” decisions of the Court in recent years on other subjects (such as national security). It also displays little comprehension of the duty of the Supreme Court to enforce the Constitution and prevent Congress from abrogating the liberties of citizens through noxious legislation. The Senator and his fellow travelers obviously believe that the Court should routinely rubber stamp whatever legislationCongress passes that they like, no matter if it takes away fundamental rights like free speech that are guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights, and that the Court should create new law and “rights” that liberals want out of the “penumbras” of the Constitution.
The Heritage Foundation is going to have an event on Wednesday, June 16, to discuss this entitled “The Myth of a Conservative Court and Why Liberals Peddle It.” It starts at 11:00 a.m. in Heritage’s Allison Auditorium and will be moderated by former attorney general Edwin Meese. The panelists include Todd Gaziano, Manuel Miranda, and yours truly. Anyone interested in hearing about the coordinated liberal campaign to damage the reputations of some of the Court’s justices and hoodwink journalists to protect real liberal activists is invited to attend. Information is available here.
