Losing “Well”
This warms the cockles of my heart:
At the recent Supreme Court oral argument in the Citizens United case, about the constitutionality of limits on corporate spending in elections, new Solicitor General Elena Kagan gave a refreshingly honest answer to a question by Chief Justice John Roberts: “If you are asking me, Mr. Chief Justice, as to whether the government has a preference as to the way in which it loses, if it has to lose, the answer is yes.”
Across liberal public interest law firms, in the Department of Justice, and at civil rights organizations, that answer surely resonated. The fact is that since Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s departure, as the court has moved sharply to the right, the question for liberals with cases before the Supreme Court often is not whether the left will lose but how it will lose. It turns out that some ways of losing are worse than others. In short: Broad, constitutional holdings that shut down entire lines of cases in all federal and state courts are much worse than narrower rulings that leave open future litigation and put off larger questions for another day. So among liberal advocates, countless hours are spent strategizing over how to lose well at the court.
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September 14th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I was there, along with (my guess from doing some good spotting and math) over 800,000 others and VAST majority of signs were anything but the left wants to believe, but you know what, people have the right to say and express what they want. The gathering, was upbeat, peaceful and positive and I believe all who were there thought they were making history and were committed to real change….toward liberty and respect for the Constitution.
I cannot tell you how many people said to me something like…”I have never done anything like this before.” or ” I hardly used to follow politics”…..followed by “but…………..”
The BUT is what all those who disrespect the Constitution and who over spend and over-reach…..have to be worried about!!!! 2010 here we come…..2012 here we come!!!!
September 14th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
ooops, posted reply on wrong blog! apologies!