It looks like Delay thinks the attack on the Judiciary served as a good distraction from his ethics problems, and he now seeks to milk the scandal and keep the veil up as long as he can.
He further went on to explain his comments which have been interpreted by many as threatening judges:
HUME: You said today that, quote, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, not today." What did you mean by that?
DELAY: Well, there's a lot of questions that need to be answered. We need to look at this case. We need to look at the failure of the judiciary in Florida. We need to look at the failure of the judiciary on the federal level. The United States Congress, with the president's signing, sent a bill -- made a law that gave the federal courts jurisdiction to look at this case all anew. And they didn't even follow procedures.
What bothered me the most about the interview is that Delay is feeding into the frenzy that the judiciary is "out of control" and, with a majority in Congres, the Republicans have the power to severely limit the jurisidiction of the courts and to essentially tip the balance in their favor. Delay even boasted about how they have controlled the judiciary before:
DELAY: Well, the House of Representatives has taken on judiciary activism for the last two years. I mean we passed six bills limiting their jurisdiction. We've looked at the makeup of their courts. We're taking responsibility for being the checks and balances on an overactive, out-of- control judiciary.
It's the Orwellian speak again, where "checks and balances" really means "sapping the judiciary of the power and oversight it has traditionally excercised."
It looks like Delay has found his pet project and, being desparate to deflect attention away from his ethics issues, he is planning on using a full-scale assult, hearings and all, to blame the judiciary for, well, doing its job.
My hope is that the Democrats won't make light of this, and that they speak out not only to protect our judiciary, but to call Delay out for his distraction tactics as well.
Update [2005-4-2 8:39:0 by georgia10]:: Bingo. Here is what it all comes down to. Impeachment.
He said the House already passed a bill now waiting in the Senate that would allow federal review of state cases in instances such as Schiavo's. Also, he said the House Judiciary Committee has announced hearings on the "definition of good behavior" for judges.
So, let me get this straight. They want an easy up or down vote on their nominees, but once the judges are in, they want to make it easier to kick them out. His goal is clear: a dispensable judiciary.
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