 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Oct. 17, 2005
/ 14 Tishrei, 5766
Religious tests and the Court
By
Jonathan Tobin
Questions about a nominee's beliefs about a Supreme Judge lead to trouble
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
One of the oddest things about the recent debates about the qualifications of Supreme Court nominees is the way that some of us have been tiptoeing around a subject that is theoretically off limits.
Even though Article VI, Clause 3, of the Constitution of the United States reads that "No religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States," that hasn't stopped a lot of us from thinking a great deal about the faith of both John Roberts, recently sworn in as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Harriet E. Miers, nominated to be an associate justice by President Bush.
Given the cut-throat partisanship that has characterized recent judicial nomination fights, it's not surprising that foes — and friends — of the nominees would seize upon anything that might hurt or help their cause. And in the case of Roberts and Miers, the lack of a record of written court decisions has left everyone scrambling for any evidence that could shed light on their philosophies and the ways they might rule in future cases.
SOME INDISCREET WINKS
As difficult as it might have been to understand Roberts — who was, after all, a life-long movement conservative and a Republican whose political sympathies were no mystery — Miers is a complete enigma to Republicans and Democrats alike.
With virtually no public record as an advocate for legal causes or stands on issues, all we have to go on is the fact that the president thinks she's hell on wheels. Considering her loyal service to Bush in Texas and Washington, he's got every right to think that way.
But that's left the White House with little ammunition to assure presidential backers that Miers is actually a conservative in any sense of the word, be it in terms of judicial philosophy or in her stance on social issues.
Among the winks and nods being thrown out to the GOP heartland is the fact that Miers is a deeply religious woman who converted to evangelical Protestantism from Catholicism.
Among those who have presumably received a few winks and nods is James C. Dobson, the head of the religious conservative group Focus on the Family. Dobson got himself in trouble with the administration when he said just that last week on his highly influential radio program.
"When you know some of the things that I know - that I probably shouldn't know — you will understand why I have said with fear and trepidation that I believe Harriet Miers will be a good justice," Dobson confided to his listeners.
Adding fuel to the liberal fire that will, no doubt, result from his indiscretion, Dobson made it clear what he was talking about when he added that, "If I have made a mistake here, I will never forget the blood of those babies that will die will be on my hands to some degree."
It could be that Dobson is bluffing about receiving assurances that, as his statement indicated, Miers would vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. It could also be that the person(s) who gave Dobson such assurances were themselves bluffing. But either way, a door has been opened to further debate about what exactly it is that she believes.
The irony is that while most supporters of the Roberts nomination were aghast at the notion of asking the future chief justice how he would rule on abortion or other controversial issues, some conservatives are now starting to make similar demands about Miers.
Keeping in mind the numerous examples of Republican presidents nominating unknown jurists to the high court only to discover later that they weren't actually conservatives, some on the right don't want to trust the president. Some, like anti-abortion stalwart Sen. Sam Brownback (Rep.-Kan.), want to hear from her own mouth that she's one of them.
But the whole point of the Miers' appointment appears to be that she is simply a blank slate, which will make it impossible for her to be "Borked" by liberals. If the impeccable Roberts was still opposed by half of the Senate's Democrats, what hope is there for consensus about anyone with a record of any kind?
And other than the fact that Miers is herself an evangelical and a trusted adviser to the religious conservative who lives in the White House, what do religious conservatives — or anyone else — have to go on? And that is precisely a direction the White House would be ill-advised to point toward.
Public officials must, of course, put their oath of office to defend the constitution above sectarian or denominational loyalties. But the idea that Chief Justice Roberts or even Harriet Miers must publicly renounce loyalty to the pope or to James Dobson, for that matter, in exchange for our trust is more than archaic. The notion put forward by some less-guarded critics that John Roberts' stance as a faithful Catholic ought to be taken into consideration when voting on his nomination was both out of bounds and offensive.
Should some liberals act on Dobson's hint and now demand a religious test from Miers, that would prove just as wrong.
PREJUDICE STILL EXISTS
One of the glories of modern American politics is the sense that the religious barriers that once prevented Catholics and Jews from rising to high public office are gone. Far from a drawback, Sen. Joseph Lieberman's public stance as a religious Jew helped his cause as the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000.
And who really cares whether John Roberts or, for that matter, John Kerry, are Catholics? Most of the first century or more of American political history was besmirched by a powerful backlash of anti-Catholic bigotry that's still enshrined in many state laws that forbid aid to parochial schools. Yet Kerry's faith was not an issue in 2004, and the nasty innuendos about Roberts had no traction with either the public or the majority of the Senate.
But lingering beneath the surface of these debates are prejudices few of us feel comfortable talking about. The notion that many conservatives would not feel comfortable with a principled atheist or someone openly identified with a liberal denomination is unsettling.
Equally troubling is the fact that many on the other side, including some liberal Jews, harbor prejudices themselves about conservatives Christians. That such bias cloaks itself in a guise of victimhood that perceives everyone on the religious right — no matter what their actual beliefs — as potential oppressors is no excuse. Such attitudes, which fuel irrational fears about people who hold differing political and religious beliefs, are as rooted in ignorance and political opportunism as those sometimes put forward against Jews from the far right.
The Miers nomination is deeply problematic on a number of grounds that will be argued to death in the coming months. But let's keep religion out of it, one way or another, for that's a double-edged sword both sides of our political spectrum should be wary of. Harriet Miers' faith should not be used as a reason to grant her a seat on the Supreme Court. Nor is it sufficient reason to oppose her.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Let him know what you think by clicking here.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
© 2005, Jonathan Tobin
|
