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[Marxism] John "the originalist" Roberts's attacks on congress



Newly Released Documents Recall Roberts' Swipes at Congress
The Associated Press

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts took shots at Congress while a
Reagan administration lawyer, saying in documents released Wednesday
that a congressman killed in connection with cult leader Jim Jones'
massacre could be viewed as a "publicity hound" and that what Congress
does best is "nothing." National Archives officials announced Tuesday
the discovery of "a large volume" of unreviewed and unreleased Roberts
documents, and at least one file of Roberts papers on affirmative
action has gone missing.
FULL AT
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1125527678957

Some commentators have suggested that Roberts, along with Scalia,
supports a view of the U.S. Constitution known as "originalism," which
Darlene Superville, writing for the AP, describes as:

"a legal philosophy that says the Constitution means the same thing
today as it did when it was drafted in the summer of 1787, making no
allowances for societal changes. It also says the Constitution's
meaning can only be changed by amendment, a difficult process that
requires two-thirds approval by each house of Congress and
three-fourths of the states."

Apparently "originalism" like "liberalism" and "conservatism" and
"patriotism" and other hackneyed expressions are flexible terms
depending on the needs of the writer or speaker. However, Hamilton,
Madison, and Jay, who wrote the Federalist Papers, the authoritative
contemporary analyses of the proposed constitution, maintained that it
was the legislative branch of the government, in particular the House
of Representatives, that was its the main pillar. The Senate, with its
staggered service for 6 years, the Executive, and the Judiciary were
there to bring stability and continuity to the new state, not to
dominate it.

Roberts's comments on Congress support the notion that his greatest
defect as a jurist is that he is a strong supporter of the executive
authority of the president. In others words, his political philosophy,
as shown by his decisions and practice, is antidemocratic and
authoritarian.

Brian Shannon


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