I was completely taken in by the man.
To be sure, I thought his family situation was rather strange, his wife was a tad creepy with her extremist views on women's rights, but his essential credentials appeared to be sound...
Though, he was entirely too, too white for my taste, too, too vanilla, and those sorts of people always give me unease ... but I thought my unease baseless and I ignored it.
Sadly, because of the monopolistic hold on our nation's media, I wasn't aware of the man's sordid background.
Hades! I wasn't even aware of the sordid situation in Florida during the battles there over the 2000 election until I saw Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 immediately after it came out.
I was astounded when I saw Moore's footage of the scenes in the U.S. Senate when the blessed Black Caucus tried to have the election set aside. Likewise, when I found out that Bush was utterly unable to walk to the White House on his inauguration day because Americans were so hostile to his presidency. I existed in a news blackout because I was just beginning my exploration of the information available on the internet and I hadn't made the right connections yet.
But John Roberts ... the Trojan Horse:
U.S. Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts provided legal advice to Gov. Jeb Bush in the weeks following the November 2000 election as part of the effort to make sure the governor's brother won the disputed presidential vote.
Roberts, at the time a private attorney in Washington, D.C., came to Tallahassee to advise the state's Republican administration as it was trying to prevent a Democratic end-run that the GOP feared might give the election to Al Gore, sources told The Herald.
The maneuver, which the Democrats never attempted, might have kept the state from sending its list of official ''electors'' -- the Electoral College members who actually cast the votes that count -- to Congress and the National Archives.
http://www.commondreams.org/...
And, in the case of Bush v. Gore:
The Miami Herald reports: U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts played a broader behind-the-scenes role for the Republican camp in the aftermath of the 2000 election than previously reported -- as legal consultant, lawsuit editor and prep coach for arguments before the nation's highest court, according to the man who drafted him for the job.
Ted Cruz, a domestic policy advisor for President Bush and who is now Texas' solicitor general, said Roberts was one of the first names he thought of while he and another attorney drafted the Republican legal dream team of litigation ''lions'' and ''800-pound gorillas,'' which ultimately consisted of 400 attorneys in Florida.
Until now, Gov. Jeb Bush and others involved in the election dispute could recall almost nothing of Roberts' role, except for a half-hour meeting the governor had with Roberts. Cruz said Roberts was in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days,'' and that his help was important, though Cruz said it is difficult to remember specifics five years after the sleep-depriving frenetic pace of the 2000 recount.
http://www.votelaw.com/...
Obviously, a deal was in the making because of the secrecy of Roberts' actions in 2000:
As the 2000 presidential recount battle raged in Florida, a Washington lawyer named John G. Roberts Jr. traveled to Tallahassee, the state capital, to dispense legal advice.
He operated in the shadows at least some of those 37 days, never signing a legal brief and rarely making an appearance at the makeshift headquarters for George W. Bush's legal team....
"Mr. Roberts, one of the preeminent constitutional attorneys in the country, came to Florida in 2000 at his own expense and met with Gov. Bush to share what he believed the governor's responsibilities were under federal law after a presidential election and a presidential election under dispute," said the spokesman, Jacob DiPietre. "Judge Roberts was one of several experts who came to Florida to share their ideas. The governor appreciated his willingness to serve and valued his counsel."
http://articles.latimes.com/...
Frankly, I think that the low-profile Mr. Roberts came to Florida filled with great expectations after George W. Bush was acclaimed POTUS by SCOTUS.
Isn't that a bit of a "quid pro quo" thingy?
And, Roberts' flummery about the Federalist Society:
Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has repeatedly said that he has no memory of belonging to the Federalist Society, but his name appears in the influential, conservative legal organization's 1997-1998 leadership directory.
Having served only two years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after a long career as a government and private-sector lawyer, Roberts has not amassed much of a public paper record that would show his judicial philosophy. Working with the Federalist Society would provide some clue of his sympathies. The organization keeps its membership rolls secret, but many key policymakers in the Bush administration are acknowledged current or former members.
Roberts has burnished his legal image carefully. When news organizations have reported his membership in the society, he or others speaking on his behalf have sought corrections. Last week, the White House told news organizations that had reported his membership in the group that he had no memory of belonging. The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Associated Press printed corrections.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
While one might look a tad askance at such a membership held by one aspiring to high office, I don't see why membership in the Society would cast such a black mark on such nominees, why such a membership would be "forgotten".
Um, now I am totally creeped out by low-profile, secretive, "vanilla" people. I am also firmly convinced that the Federalist Society is an evil hole where unholy deals are cut.
And while I totally love sort of Catholic Sonia Sotomayor, I kind of like see something like a Unitarian or even an atheist on the SCOTUS. Is that too much to ask?
Anything but a "vanilla" person. Those things have a horrific center of unspeakable iniquity, I swear that is true!