Feinstein on Judicial Inexperience, Then and Now
Dianne Feinstein, February 10, 2003:
Miguel Estrada has never been a judge. So we have no record of judicial decision-making to examine. This is not dispositive in itself, but it is the first area where we find no record to help us in our decision.
Mr. Estrada is not a prolific writer. So we have no real record of writing to examine. Again, this alone would not be dispositive, but it is strike 2 in terms of where we can get information about this nominee.
We have not been granted access to the memos he wrote at the Department of Justice. So we can only take the word of the man who supervised him that those memos were ideologically driven and that he could not be trusted.
Elena Kagan has never been a judge. She is not a prolific writer. We have not seen her internal memoranda and correspondence from when she was Solicitor General.
And so we see in the L.A. Times yesterday:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called Kagan’s lack of judicial experience “refreshing,” . . .
It’s just too easy. And I’m sure you could find examples of hypocrisy running the other way, too.
It’s the kind of thing that makes you long to watch actual kabuki theater.
If you’re interested in the snoozefest that is the Kagan confirmation, Jan Crawford has a number of videos at her Facebook page covering this and the gun rights case from yesterday. Check them out.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. They don’t have any principles at all. Just prejudices.
Here is another example I found today:
http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/blue-texan-at-firedoglake-trashes-right.html
Eric Blair (02a138) — 6/29/2010 @ 7:27 amThat’s spin for you, baby! It always sounds so great until the next situation comes along. It’s amazing how many people involved with politics still have not come to grips with the fact that we now live in a world with internet search engines, and video cameras.
elissa (a17a7a) — 6/29/2010 @ 7:45 amHey, kid. You gotta know the right peoples. If you know the right peoples everything comeuppa roses.
— Vito “Cool Lips” Chericola
nk (db4a41) — 6/29/2010 @ 7:50 amRemember when Sen. Feinstein said that the San Francisco 49ers would have to rename themselves to the “Santa Clara Chips” if they went ahead and built a new stadium in the South Bay? Well, when she was mayor of San Francisco she successfully lobbied to have Super Bowl 19 played in San Francisco, where the 49ers would beat the Dolphins 38-16 in front of their hometown crowd.
If by “hometown”, you meant “Stanford Stadium”.
Yes, even in 1985 Candlestick Park was deemed unfit for a Super Bowl, so they hosted it 30 miles to the south. You wanna talk about two-faced? Try lobbying for a Super Bowl to be played 30 miles south of your city, and then trying to block the team from moving south 15 years later.
Roger (dfa727) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:09 amSen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called Kagan’s lack of judicial experience “refreshing,” . . .
What’s the big deal? That was the entire justification given by Obama voters for giving him the job.
Keep in mind that Bush got roasted by both sides for doing a similar nomination in Harriet Miers.
I hope this whole “lack of experience” thing that seems to be catching on means I can now qualify for that astronaut job I always wanted.
Another Chris (2d8013) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:14 am‘Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called Kagan’s lack of judicial experience “refreshing,”’
It is a change from the usual Democrat practice of nominating judges with a long history of judicial incompetence.
Dave Surls (e969a9) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:22 amThe flipper flips and then flops.
I think by now these people should know about the Internet. Before Obowma shuts it off.
bill-tb (541ea9) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:32 amAnd when you consider that, by all visible indicators, Senator Feinstein is the better of California’s two Senators—well then you put your head in your hands in despair. It’s almost enough to call for the return of Senator Hayakawa.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:35 amOr even that titan of the Senate John Tunney!
Boy have we sent some stinkers to Washington.
“Boy have we sent some stinkers to Washington.”
If it’s a choice between having them in California or having them in Washington…
And, Hayakawa was a great senator. We sent him to Washington, and he did what a senator ought to do, which is sleep through most of the proceedings.
Dave Surls (e969a9) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:49 am“Elena Kagan has never been a judge.”
Proof positive that there is some hope for our legal system.
Dave Surls (e969a9) — 6/29/2010 @ 8:59 amTunney was the link man to the KGB, with Kennedy,
ian cormac (89ef3c) — 6/29/2010 @ 9:11 amDiFi…hypocrisy….
Say it isn’t so?
Let’s be reasonable here:
AD - RtR/OS! (f22b48) — 6/29/2010 @ 11:48 amWebsters has entire pages devoted to pix of politicians that define the word “hypocrite”,
and She Is There!
Also, under “S” for stupid.
At least Bush pulled the Miers nomination.
tim (93c4dc) — 6/29/2010 @ 12:10 pmAt least with real Kabuki there’s some music playing to listen to if the play is boring or too hard to follow.
jakee308 (9471e1) — 6/29/2010 @ 12:28 pmDon’t forget Alan Cranston!
MunDane68 (54a83b) — 6/29/2010 @ 12:39 pmwell, my feeling on her has been counter-intuitive. i think she sucks and i think that is great. she will suck as an advocate of her causes, and given that her causes are not my causes, that is great.
if she doesn’t know how to act like a judge, at all, all the more better. what could alienate her colleagues more?
Of course ideally, i would want a conservative with long exeperience on the bench, but nonetheless young enough that s/he would serve a long time, but I can’t hope to get that until 2013. for the meantime, i will settle for a really ineffective liberal.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 6/29/2010 @ 12:39 pmBut i do think all of this is funny in another way. Republicans said that the president should have administrative experience and the dems laughed it off. mmm, yeah, and 100 quadrillion gallons of oil later, are they still laughing? Indeed, just the other day Jon Stewart asked David Axelrod whether Obama should really take over the financial sector given they are screwing up on just an oil spill.
So once again, Dems think its not a problem to lack experience. The good news is this time disaster could only strike the liberal agenda, but you would have thought they had learned the lesson by now.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 6/29/2010 @ 12:44 pmLet’s not forget Sarah Palin was too inexperienced to be VP. But Obama for president? Why he was vastly qualifed due to having run a campaign!
TakeFive (7c6fd5) — 6/29/2010 @ 1:47 pmTake
indeed, now who would you rather have in charge of cleaning up the gulf of mexico? Palin, or Obambi?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 6/29/2010 @ 2:02 pmI’ve always wanted to be a surgeon. Now, I think it’s a possibility for me to pursue my dream. My lack of medical experience should be “refreshing” to any prospective patients. I would even be willing to offer my services for free to Senator Feinstein.
Eric (0236b5) — 6/29/2010 @ 2:46 pmCan I haz Presedent? Or Firefiter if somebody else picked Presedent first.
East Bay Jay (2fd7f7) — 6/29/2010 @ 3:16 pmComment by Aaron Worthing (A.W.) — 6/29/2010 @ 2:02 pm
I vote for Todd!
AD - RtR/OS! (f22b48) — 6/29/2010 @ 3:47 pmGood to hear that Mark Levin has no idea how to say “Patterico” even given the the helpful phonetic pronunciation guide on the sidebar.
heh
SteveG (9fb25f) — 6/29/2010 @ 5:33 pmSo, in addition to voting the wrong way on issues, supporting tax increases, and freely denying our freedoms — she’s a liar as well?
Well then, by all means you Kalifornians re-elect her . . . again. Sheesh!
Icy Texan (b865a5) — 6/29/2010 @ 11:20 pmComment by SteveG — 6/29/2010 @ 5:33 pm
Oh, Mark murdered our host’s name the first time the site was mentioned on his show some time back – can’t remember the subject that prompted it.
AD - RtR/OS! (f22b48) — 6/29/2010 @ 11:26 pmSomething like: Pah-tear-ah-coh!
Kind of funny, really.