States of Nature
In their long-standing campaign against environmental protections, American conservatives have taken a kitchen sink approach: First they exalted states' rights and attacked the Environmental Protection Agency; later, they reversed course, attacking states' rights and exalting the EPA. The only consistent objective was to thwart regulation, and the only question was which strategy would be most effective in achieving that goal.But their political opportunism may soon come to haunt them. By READ MORE >>
States of Nature
In their long-standing campaign against environmental protections, American conservatives have taken a kitchen sink approach: First they exalted states' rights and attacked the Environmental Protection Agency; later, they reversed course, attacking states' rights and exalting the EPA. The only consistent objective was to thwart regulation, and the only question was which strategy would be most effective in achieving that goal. READ MORE >>
Legal Bondage
The day of Eliot Spitzer's ignominious resignation, I reread one of the most splenetic dissents in the recent history of the Supreme Court: the jeremiad Antonin Scalia wrote in response to the Lawrence v. Texas ruling that legalized sodomy. Scalia argued that Lawrence would release a wave of relativism that would ultimately sweep away laws banning "bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity." Or, as he put it: "This effectively decrees the end of all morals legislation." READ MORE >>
Short Bench
Card-Carrying
If Barack Obama were to win the Democratic nomination and the White House, he would be, among other things, our first civil libertarian president. This is clear not just from his lifetime rating on the ACLU’s scorecard (82 percent compared to John McCain's 25 percent). It is clear from the fact that civil liberties have been among his most passionate interests--as a constitutional law professor, state legislator, and senator. On the campaign trail, he has been unapologetic about these enthusiasms. READ MORE >>
Primary School
According to The New York Times, New Hampshire is the new Disneyland—where political tourists flock to enjoy the spectacle of the ultimate campaign theme park. Two days before the vote, I joined the horde. Unlike most of my colleagues at The New Republic, I’ve never covered a presidential campaign, interviewed a voter, or even watched a rally on television. So I set off for the perfect geek vacation. READ MORE >>
Pinpointed
My Grandfather's Son: A MemoirBy Clarence Thomas(Harper, 289 pp., $26.95)Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence ThomasBy Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher(Doubleday, 422 pp., $26.95) READ MORE >>
Supreme Leader: The Arrogance of Anthony Kennedy
On March 15, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Justice Anthony Kennedy presided over the trial of Hamlet. “All rise!” commanded a bailiff in Elizabethan ruffles. “The Honorable the Eastern High Court for the Kingdom of Denmark is now in session!” As the sold-out house rose to its feet, Kennedy strode onto the bare stage in his black robes, taking a seat behind a judge’s bench framed by an American flag and an enormous portrait of Shakespeare. “Please be seated,” he said graciously. READ MORE >>
Justice Anthony Kennedy
In the current issue, I write about the utopianism of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who as the swing vote on the Supreme Court, has imposed his moral abstractions on issues ranging from women's rights to the death penalty. Here are some totemic documents that may help to illuminate his worldview. Justice Kennedy's interview with the Academy of Achievement, June 3, 2005. READ MORE >>
