BEWARE: John Roberts' record defies '05 pledges

[babylonsister]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/06/john_roberts_record_defies_05.html#more

John Roberts' record defies '05 pledges
Posted June 29, 2008 11:00 AM
The Swamp
By James Oliphant



With his third term as chief justice coming to a close amid three explosive cases last week, John Roberts has proved to be almost everything conservatives hoped and liberals feared.

Despite pledges during his 2005 confirmation hearing to hew to judicial centrism, Roberts has shown himself to be a reliable member of the Supreme Court's right flank--rarely, if ever, disagreeing with its positions on civil rights, gun control, the death penalty, affirmative action and a host of other issues.

That may come as no surprise to those who paid close attention to Roberts' career before his elevation to the high court, but the picture is at odds with the non-ideological face he presented after his nomination.

"I come before this committee with no agenda, no platform," Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005. "I will approach every case with an open mind."

Roberts branded himself then a judicial "umpire" who called the balls and strikes as he saw them, without reference to ideology.

"Some people will like what Roberts has done and some people will be upset about it, but it is hard to describe it as the work of a 'neutral umpire,' " said Christopher Eisgruber, a professor at Princeton University and an expert on the court appointments process.

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http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/06/john_roberts_record_defies_05.html#more

[fasttense]

1. Roberts is nothing but a bad politician in black robes.

He was placed on with the Supremes merely to support his master's political agenda. He does not deserve the title of judge or justice because he has nothing to do with justice.

[Benhurst]

2. "I come before this committee with no agenda, no platform," Roberts told

the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005. "I will approach every case with an open mind."

Yeah. Sure.

Any U.S. Senator who believed that was and is unfit for office.