How the Left is Overplaying It's Hand

A good friend of mine thinks the Left is over-reacting when it comes to the Roberts nomination. I tend to agree and so does Alan over at The Yellow Line. He has an engaging post about how liberal reaction to Roberts is telling more about them than it is about Roberts.

I won't repeat what Alan said, but I do want to make a point on one ground. Alan shares a statement from the group MoveOn.org, which accuses him of being a "corporate lawyer" who supported all these evil things from, limiting environmental protection to not allow Congress to defend the Voting Rights Act.

Okay, hold on. Anyone who knows a thing or two about lawyers know that even if they defend a company accused of say poisioning the water, that doesn't mean they agree with it. In many cases, the firm is one of several that are counsel to a corporation. To the firm, that is a client and they have to argue their case. I've known corporate lawyers who are big lefties who still agrue cases for large multinationals.

In short, just because Roberts was a corporate lawyer who argued cases that MoveOn didn't like, that doesn't necessarily mean that he agrees with what they might be doing. He had a job to do and he did it. This is not like the movies where corporate lawyers are seen as evil and callous people who are nothing more than corporate shills.

I also have a problem with MoveOn immediately branding Roberts as "right-wing." We don't really know that much about this guy. It's a little early to start pegging him as an extremist. But I tend to think MoveOn would oppose anyone Bush put forward. Heck, he could have nominated Jesus and they would have found something to kvetch about.

They way that some on the left tend think, a more conservative court would spell the end of freedom. Well, we've had a conservative court for about 15 or so years. In that time, Roe hasn't been overturned, partial-birth abortion laws have been struck down, sodomy laws were overturned as were laws restricting the rights of gays. Heck, even affirmative action still stands. The Court may not be the vanguard it was during the era of Earl Warren, but it is hardly curtailing our liberties either.

Finally, instead of wasting money on a Court battle, maybe some of these groups need should spend money and time to get liberal majorities in Congress and the White House. If they want a more liberal Court, they should work on getting a liberal President, instead of throwing rocks.

I'm not saying these groups shouldn't be critical. But Bush picked a nominee that will be hard to oppose. Save your money and let's give Roberts a fair hearing. If what they hear isn't pleasing then they can criticize. But for now, maybe they should focus on 2006 and 2008.