The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

The temerity of someone questioning something Obama did! No one may question our Kenyan king!

Actually, there seriously are a lot of people (especially of the baby boomer generation) that deride the younger folk for questioning our leaders, sometimes in such an insulting manner. The days of blind faith are over. They should know that after the Fed killed Kennedy.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

While his proposal was not enacted, the nature and tenor of SCOTUS rulings apparently did change afterward, at least according to historians I've read. I inserted a link to Wikipedia above that gives more background information.

I knew if I waited long enough you would not post just another Newsmax talking point. This is actually correct.

This is the famous "switch in time that saved nine."

Apparently there is debate among historians whether the effect was as strong as the conventional wisdom. Certainly in my undergrad con law class (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) it was portrayed as strongly affecting the court's subsequent direction. I always thought it was a terrible precedent for one branch to interfere with another so hamfistedly, though anything that pissed off James Clark McReynolds can't be all bad.

Also, it led to the end of Lochner, the second-worst decision in SCOTUS history.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

The temerity of someone questioning something Obama did! No one may question our Kenyan king!

The ratio of people who brainlessly hate Obama to those who brainlessly follow Obama is about a million to one.

And all this from a political group who every time Reagan comes up sings "when I think about you, I touch myself."

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Actually, there seriously are a lot of people (especially of the baby boomer generation) that deride the younger folk for questioning our leaders, sometimes in such an insulting manner. The days of blind faith are over. They should know that after the Fed killed Kennedy.

Your lack of respect for our great Kenyan is most disappointing. Show proper fealty to your sovereign.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

The ratio of people who brainlessly hate Obama to those who brainlessly follow Obama is about a million to one.

Maybe in that alternate universe where Kirk, Bones, Uhuru, and Scotty get beamed to.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Maybe in that alternate universe where Kirk, Spock, Uhuru, and Scotty get beamed to.

Bearded Hillary is a great image.

And smart Palin is a mind-blowing concept.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Bearded Hillary is a great image.

I really didn't need that one!

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

I really didn't need that one!

Sorry.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Sorry.

She has my vote if she promises to shave!

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

She has my vote if she promises to shave!

Now that's an image I didn't need!!!

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Now that's an image I didn't need!!!

I didn't mean to offend your appreciation of a bearded Hillary. She'd certainly be free to shave, or not. But, I was trying to be bipartisan!

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

The ratio of people who brainlessly hate Obama to those who brainlessly follow Obama is about a million to one.

Most people I know were nervous about someone so untested assuming office, and yet were willing to give him a chance, especially based upon his insprirational rhetoric. I certainly hoped he'd at least live up to about 25% of it.

I don't think there are very many people who "brainlessly hate" Obama, outside of extremist political blogs. Anyone with eyes and ears can see the disconnect between Obama's rhetoric and Obama's actions.

and the word "hate" is a bit pejorative...."distrust" is more like it. When a person so frequently says one thing while doing another, how would you expect a rational person to respond?



Also, I don't see many people "follow" Obama as much as "grudgingly tolerate" him.

I have nothing against the man personally, I simply would prefer him on the golf course instead of in the White House. Let him take his pension and write a few more books, I don't begrudge him that. However, his failure to stand by the Iranian people during the "Green Revolution" and his failure to support the Syrian rebels in my eyes makes him untrustworthy in protecting long-term US interests overseas; and his tendency to tear down everyone who dares question him and to whine when he doesn't get his way....

Tip O'Neil was a far more formidable partisan warrior than John Boehner, yet O'Neil was co-opted into collaborating with Reagan (Dems controlled both Houses of Congress in 1982 when the first Reagan tax cut was passed; while Dems controlled both Houses of Congress in 2010 yet Obama still couldn't get the "tax the rich" passed!).

 

[bronconick]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

That hindsight must be really handy, given that at the time, everyone on both sides of the aisle pretty much agreed that US options in Iran were limited since we were hoping the undecided majority in the country and the Iranian regular army would come down on the side of the revolutionaries and American support would kill that hope.

 

[leswp1]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Most people I know were nervous about someone so untested assuming office, and yet were willing to give him a chance, especially based upon his insprirational rhetoric. I certainly hoped he'd at least live up to about 25% of it.

I don't think there are very many people who "brainlessly hate" Obama, outside of extremist political blogs. Anyone with eyes and ears can see the disconnect between Obama's rhetoric and Obama's actions.

and the word "hate" is a bit pejorative...."distrust" is more like it. When a person so frequently says one thing while doing another, how would you expect a rational person to respond?



Also, I don't see many people "follow" Obama as much as "grudgingly tolerate" him.

I have nothing against the man personally, I simply would prefer him on the golf course instead of in the White House. Let him take his pension and write a few more books, I don't begrudge him that. However, his failure to stand by the Iranian people during the "Green Revolution" and his failure to support the Syrian rebels in my eyes makes him untrustworthy in protecting long-term US interests overseas; and his tendency to tear down everyone who dares question him and to whine when he doesn't get his way....

Tip O'Neil was a far more formidable partisan warrior than John Boehner, yet O'Neil was co-opted into collaborating with Reagan (Dems controlled both Houses of Congress in 1982 when the first Reagan tax cut was passed; while Dems controlled both Houses of Congress in 2010 yet Obama still couldn't get the "tax the rich" passed!).

I am exposed to more people who hate the Prez mindlessly than those who have the ability to articulate what exactly they hate other than the idea of him. It is so frustrating to try to understand someone's objection to a proposal and watch their eyes glaze over the minute it is mentioned which party it comes from followed by a spouting of how horrible it is with no real reason.

I don't think he has lived up to what he could of but I also don't think the expectations that people have are reasonable in the slightest. The far right folk seem to think he has singlehandly managed to destroy the US as they would like to have seen it and the far left find him completely ineffectual at accomplishing anything. I sometimes wonder if he were not a black man would the judgement would be the same or if he was so good at stirring people up to dream of change that they forgot to be the slightest bit pragmatic. I don't think he as been particularly effective but I also don't ever remember expectations being so foolishly high. I don't care what he said. How could anyone believe, in the climate of the time, that he was going to accomplish much of anything? Did they think the Dems were going to have a sudden Epiphany and work as a group (heh) or that the GOP would even attempt to work with him?

It continues to fascinate me that any president gets the blame for everything (or the credit) when they have a few hundred people on the Hill in who are determined to go in as many directions as possible but none of them in the general direction of progress. It also amazes me that people can be so entrenched in what they think a person is that they are totally able to see anything good (or bad) about that person. Politics is this in spades. I think they should not allow sponsors to Bills to be known. It would be absolutely brilliant if people were forced to actually think about things because they weren't labeled and then (horrors!!!) debate them on the merits rather than because the wrong person proposed it and all the person read was [democrat, democrat,democrat, democrat,democrat, democrat] or [GOP, GOP, GOP,GOP, GOP, GOP] instead of actual words.

I think I am past cynical and pessimistic.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

I am exposed to more people who hate the Prez mindlessly than those who have the ability to articulate what exactly they hate other than the idea of him. It is so frustrating to try to understand someone's objection to a proposal and watch their eyes glaze over the minute it is mentioned which party it comes from followed by a spouting of how horrible it is with no real reason.

Same experience, here.

Again, I wish someone would just publish a poll randomly ascribing nonsense sentences first to Obama and then to one of the right's adored -- say, Palin (and yes, I understand in the latter case they could simply use direct quotes) -- and then correlate approval and disapproval by the responder's political affiliation. That would be both funny and scary.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

I wish someone would just publish a poll randomly ascribing nonsense sentences first to Obama and then to one of the right's adored

For some reason this reminds me of a headline from the heyday of Pravda. The USSR and the USA would sometimes use athletic events as a way to "thaw the ice" during the Cold War.

Of course, if the USA won, then the Pravda headline would read: "Mighty USSR finishes 2nd, while impotent USA finishes 2nd to last."

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

For some reason this reminds me of a headline from the heyday of Pravda. The USSR and the USA would sometimes use athletic events as a way to "thaw the ice" during the Cold War.

Of course, if the USA won, then the Pravda headline would read: "Mighty USSR finishes 2nd, while impotent USA finishes 2nd to last."

Very nice.

"In Soviet Russia, leader gives people four more years."

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Same experience, here.

Again, I wish someone would just publish a poll randomly ascribing nonsense sentences first to Obama and then to one of the right's adored -- say, Palin (and yes, I understand in the latter case they could simply use direct quotes) -- and then correlate approval and disapproval by the responder's political affiliation. That would be both funny and scary.

Hey, our Kenyan king shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as someone like Palin. He is all that is good and will take care of us all with his loving government programs, even if we don't get it. Such benevolence!

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Hey, our Kenyan king shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as someone like Palin. He is all that is good and will take care of us all with his loving government programs, even if we don't get it. Such benevolence!

 

[French Rage]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

That hindsight must be really handy, given that at the time, everyone on both sides of the aisle pretty much agreed that US options in Iran were limited since we were hoping the undecided majority in the country and the Iranian regular army would come down on the side of the revolutionaries and American support would kill that hope.

The one thing that would push the undecided majority on the side of the fundamentalists would be for the revolutionaries to be seen as western/American puppets. Further, trying to do anything militarily would have made Iraq and Afghanistan seem like a cakewalk. It sounds nice to think we could have done something by snapping our fingers or bombing something, but frankly it would be for nothing more than show and would hurt the causes we were for a hell of a lot more than it would have helped them.