Talk about ironic. While the full Senate is debating the filibuster because of intense judge-bashing pressure from the radical right wing, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a hearing on the safety of judges. They heard testimony from Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow who knows all too well the dangers faced by the judiciary. AP has the story:
"Fostering disrespect for judges can only encourage those that are on the edge, or on the fringe, to exact revenge on a judge who displeases them," U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow told the Senate Judiciary Committee.And, lest we forget all the judge-bashing of late, the AP provides this handy listing (the bold is my idea, not AP's):
After the death of Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose parents unsuccessfully sought to have her feeding tube reinserted despite her husband's wishes, some Republican members of Congress lashed out at judges involved in the case.Those guys should be ashamed, if they had any shame in them. Judge Lefkow is living the reality of what their words can inspire. Considering what she's been through, Judge Lefkow is one brave woman. And, I love what she said to Robertson's crazy comment:
At the time, Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania said, "The actions on the part of the Florida court and the U.S. Supreme Court are unconscionable."
"This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said. "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior."
Referring to a different decision, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he wondered whether frustration against perceived political decisions by judges "builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in violence, certainly without any justification."
[Pat] Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition and head of the Christian Broadcasting Network, appeared on ABC's "This Week" earlier this month and criticized the federal courts. "Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," he said.
"I have never encountered a judge in the federal judiciary who can remotely be described as posing a threat, as Mr. Robertson said, 'probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings,'" she said."That is so common sensical it's frightening that it even had to be said. But, meanwhile, on the Senate floor, Bill Frist is leading the judge-bashing crusade fostered by Robertson and the rest of the right wing nutballs who want a theocracy so badly, they won't let anything stand in their way.
