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The newest convert to 19th century liberalism: George W. Bush, who boldly came out with disapproval of the Dred Scott decision.

Certainly a great moment of the debate, as the Republic's fugitive slaves breathe a sigh of relief.

Was I paying attention in eleventh grade?

Date: 2004-10-09 05:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vardissakheli.livejournal.com
I thought Dred Scott was one of the crowning moments of strict constructionism. My wife the history major was no help, but our radical activist friend said that was what she remembered from tenth grade, too. Have we gone as insane as the rest of the country?

Re: Was I paying attention in eleventh grade?

Date: 2004-10-09 10:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] infrogmation.livejournal.com
Yes, you are correct. This was not even a good example of Bush's supposed point of favoring "strict constructualists" disliking activist judges.

"I would pick somebody who would not allow their personal opinion to get in the way of the law. I would pick somebody who would strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States."

As dreadful as any pro-slavery decision is, at the time slavery was the law of the land. It was recognized by the U.S. Constitution until the 13th amendment.

Mrs. Crabbapple: "Dred Scott? Well, I'll raise your grade to D- because I can tell you're really TRYING, Georgie."
From: [identity profile] vardissakheli.livejournal.com
and definitely didn't know it went back to 1993 (http://prolife.liberals.com/articles/casey93.html) (or earlier?). They're equating the legal status of negros then and fetuses now, and Dred Scott stands quite specifically for Roe v. Wade.

Having learned this, I'm now kind of surprised that Kerry didn't take it on more directly. "Your President is speaking in secret code to a certain set of people because he is afraid that the rest of you would understand that he's not talking about impartiality at all. He's talking about appointing judges based on their personal opinions regarding the rights of women." Maybe his debate coaches simply didn't anticipate such a ridiculous-sounding pile of Doublespeak.

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