Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Wisconsin Assembly rams Scalia Resolution down throats of objecting Democrats.

The way I see it, is Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority decisions are now costing people their lives (guns), and costing the nation its representative democracy (Citizens United). And I'm just scratching the surface. Scalia’s now legendary minority opinions proved he was an activist and partisan Justice, picking and choosing when to use his "originalist" partisan bias. Anyone who’s caused so much harm to so many people is not worthy of my admiration, that's for sure.

And yet, not surprising, Walker’s Republican legislature decided Scalia deserved “a resolution honoring the life and service of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scali.” Republican Rep. Jim Steineke even tried to put his Democratic colleagues names on the resolution, which didn’t sit well with Rep. Cory Mason:


But some Democrats weren’t happy about the gesture. “I would be remise if I did not also acknowledge the harm that his words have caused to many of the people I represent,” complained state Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine) who went on to cite a laundry list of Scalia’s opinions that he disagreed with. “Certainly his words and messaging around marriage equality are deeply disturbing.”

In the subsequent voice vote that followed, Democrats could be heard shouting “nay” to the passage of the resolution. The measure now heads to the Senate where it is likely to pass.
Impartial Judiciary? Are you Kidding? Republicans have been upfront about appointing conservative judges and justices. They're acting as if their activist "originalist" philosophy isn't already politically charged? Yet they'll tear down the idea of living Constitution that assumes the founding fathers didn't think of themselves as all knowing gods who could see into the future. I wonder if they knew of their infallibility? 
Democratic skepticism of the resolution centered around its closing clauses and the judicial philosophy of the jurist:
“Whereas, Justice Scalia forever impacted the law of the United States of America by eloquently explaining his philosophy in countless judicial opinions, including his majority opinions in D.C. v. Heller and Printz v. United States as well as his dissenting opinions in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Atkins v. Virginia, Obergefell v. Hodges, and King v. Burwell; now, therefore, be it “Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the ardent and remarkable service Justice Antonin Scalia gave to our country through his fundamental belief in the rule of law and for preserving the lasting consistency of our Constitution.

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