John Roberts and the Federalist Society

It seems that Mr. Roberts is somewhat more involved with the Federalist Society than we've been led to believe by the White House.

A lot of speculation has gone into a simple matter of fact: Has Judge John G. Roberts Jr., the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, been a member of the Federalist Society?

The society won't say for sure, citing privacy concerns, but this much is clear: Roberts, a federal appellate judge, has spoken to the group and, in the late 1990s, was part of a steering committee for its Washington chapter while working at a prestigious D.C. law firm. Whether he has paid his $50-a-year dues might be beside the point.

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The Federalist Society is alternately described as a fraternity of like-minded conservatives who get together to think big thoughts about the Constitution and an evil cabal out to turn the judicial system on its head. The truth about the organization, which counts among its founding advisers Justice Antonin Scalia, and is led by former federal Judge Robert H. Bork and Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, lies in between.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.federalists28jul28,1,3039149.story?coll=bal-news-nation

When they want to cover shit up. What about "public concerns" that BushCo's SJC nominee is a pig in a poke.

The people have a right to know what kind of judge they will be getting.

is just another way of hiding

and early-onset dementia.

It's truly amazing how many Republican office-holders and nominees have memory loss.

Scottie-dog McClellan stated several times that Roberts couldn't remember if he paid dues or not to the Federalist Society -- the implication being is if he didn't pay dues then he wasn't a member

the "issue" has bee re-framed to define membership as dues-paying member...

a deeper issue is why is Roberts reluctant to state whether or not he is a member (dues paying or not) -- what's he hiding? Why does it appear to be detrimental to his confirmation if he is a member? What's the big deal? There's very few conservative judges/lawyers out there who don't belong to the federalist society or related organizations at some level or another.

on a lighter side - do we want a guy who can't remember joining a group like the federalist society making judicial decisions? What if he can't remember case law, or what he's doing wearing a robe and sitting on a bench? Do we want someone with faulty memory making decisions that effect all of us?

Paul Mulshine, is now trying to pass the Society off as harmless and dedicated to expanding liberty (mostly by denying Americans their day in court and restricting their rights), as this piece is. The quote in the Sun about the big tent that runs from Bork to Hatch was extremely funny. That's not a big tent...it's more like a child's sleeping bag.

But even if that is so, why did Judge Frenchfry LIE about not being part of it? He certainly thought his membership is something to hide.

By the way, it's especially rich to hear the people who have spent decades chanting "card-carrying member of the ACLU" noe suddenly fussing about parallels with Joe McCarthy.

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