September 16, 2005

“So you’re having trouble understanding the confirmation process for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?”

“Yes, my people in Iraq are confused by what we are watching. Please help us understand.”

“It’s not very complicated. The American government is divided into three separate branches, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. This separation of powers was designed to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power.”

“OK, we understand that. Go on.”

“When there is a vacancy in the Judicial Branch, the president nominates a new judge to fill it. The judge then appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

“What is the purpose of this Judiciary Committee?”

“It allows Republican Senators to say flattering things about Judge John Roberts and Democrats to probe, embarrass and humiliate him, then take his record out of context with hopes of scuttling his confirmation.”

“Scuttle?”

“As a rule, right-leaning politicians believe the U.S. Constitution is set in stone. They believe the role of a Supreme Court justice is to interpret all laws based upon the Constitution. They believe that the meaning of the Constitution is clear and only an amendment can add to that meaning. Conservatives like Roberts because that is how he feels.”

“OK.”

“But left-leaning politicians prefer to view the Constitution as a living document. They have a loosey-goosey interpretation of the Constitution and believe it should change as the times change. They prefer judges who like to get creative about what the words of the Constitution mean. They don’t like Roberts.”

“OK, my people can understand these stark political differences. But why do the Senators in the Judiciary Committee act like they are clowns in a circus?”

“Because of television. Some Senators would push their own mothers off of a bridge if it meant getting a few minutes on network TV. Some Senators are using this confirmation as an opportunity to rouse their base supporters and get them to donate money.”

“Now my people are very confused. What does rousing base supporters have to do with determining the fitness of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?”

“Nothing. In fact, the Senators on the Judiciary Committee know that Judge Roberts is probably going to get confirmed. He’s already got the votes, likely. The whole process, for the most part, is an opportunity to ham it up for the cameras.”

“But my people also noticed that Judge Roberts does not answer many of the questions he is asked.”

“Yes, that is correct. If you want to be appointed to the Supreme Court these days, you have to clam up. You can’t give any fodder to the well-funded special interest groups who hope to trip a nominee up with ‘gotcha’ politics.”

“But Democratic Sen. Joe Biden says the American people have the right to know what Judge Roberts thinks.”

“And Biden said the exact opposite when Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg was up for nomination in 1993. He said she shouldn’t have to answer any questions that would color how she might view an issue that could one day come before the court. It’s shocking, I know, but our politicians sometimes talk out of both sides of their mouth.”

“Let me get this straight. The president nominates a judge and the Senate votes on him. But first, the nominee testifies before the Judiciary Committee.”

“Yes.”

“The purpose of testifying is for the politicians who like him to make him look good and the politicians who don’t like him to trip him up, while playing to their base so they can raise money.”

“Good so far.”

“But a really smart judge won’t answer most of the questions anyway.”

“You’ve got it.

“I speak on behalf of the Iraqi people when I say the more we learn about democracy, the more puzzled we become.”

“You and 300 million Americans.”

Tom Purcell