Was Thurgood Marshall a villain?

[MrFun]

I figured we should get an opinion on this question from the way some of the Republicans in the Kagan hearings have been trying to slap the pejorative label "activist judge" on Marshall and trying to create a demeaning image of a respectable civil right activist.

So what do you think?

[Wernazuma III]

Why did you make this poll anonymous, Mr. Fun?

The answer must be obvious to anyone but old crackers who want their apartheid back.

I don't know his actual record as Supreme Judge, but SCOTUS is largely a political institution, there's no way around that. So, it's only natural that Conservatives call Democratic juedges "activists" and vice versa.
Luckily, your fundamental principles are not totalitarian and perpetuated, so they need permanent adaptation to new developments.
And that was on purpose IMO, since otherwise you'd have had a perpetuation of more and more anachronistic norms and thinking, as is the problem with the exegesis of many religious texts

[rah]

I'm a repug and from I've heard, I kind of like Kagan. The only negative is her total lack of any experience in courtrooms. But I don't think that it's that much of a negative.

[Dinner]

The whole attack Thurgood Marshall thing the Republicans are doing right now is just old fashioned dog whistle politics where the Republicans are trying to solidify the white racist vote for the coming election. It's not surprising they've chosen the 1st black supreme court justice (and the guy who successfully lead the case which ended segregation) as their target. As a bonus Kagen used to work for Thurgood Marshall so they can conveniently try to claim she hates whites just like Marshall supposedly did.

[OzzyKP]

*wishes Obama really did usher in post-racial America*

*sigh*

[DinoDoc]

So what do you think?

That anyone who describes his judicial philosophy as doing what he thinks is right and letting the law catch up should never have been a judge.

[Ben Kenobi]

Thurgood Marshall? Try Clarence Thomas.

There are far more qualified supreme court nominees than Kagan. She's the Harriet Miers of Obama.

[Ben Kenobi]

The whole attack Thurgood Marshall thing the Republicans are doing right now is just old fashioned dog whistle politics

As opposed to smearing Thomas with Anita Hill? Democrats, once racist, always racist.

[OzzyKP]

Thurgood Marshall? Try Clarence Thomas.

There are far more qualified supreme court nominees than Kagan. She's the Harriet Miers of Obama.

Hardly. Miers was a horrible pick. Kagan will do just fine on the bench, no one is seriously objecting to her the way they did with Harriet Miers.

My guess is Bush wanted to go with Roberts, but didn't want to be seen as picking a guy to replace O'Connor so he first trotted out a woman who wouldn't have a chance and get withdrawn. Then he could say "oh, well, I gave this whole woman thing a shot, you didn't like her, so I'll go with a gent."

[Solomwi]

As a bonus Kagen used to work for Thurgood Marshall so they can conveniently try to claim she hates whites just like Marshall supposedly did.

Oh, for ****'s sake, Oerdin. That's not a bonus. That's the only reason Marshall has come up.

[Ben Kenobi]

Hardly. Miers was a horrible pick. Kagan will do just fine on the bench, no one is seriously objecting to her the way they did with Harriet Miers.

Niether Harriet nor Kagan has passed the bar.

My guess is Bush wanted to go with Roberts, but didn't want to be seen as picking a guy to replace O'Connor so he first trotted out a woman who wouldn't have a chance and get withdrawn. Then he could say "oh, well, I gave this whole woman thing a shot, you didn't like her, so I'll go with a gent."

I'd agree with that assessment. I think there are more qualified people than Kagan who should be appointed to SCOTUS.

[Darius871]

Niether Harriet nor Kagan has passed the bar.

Good lord, do you even read what you post? This took me precisely 12 seconds of googling:

[Miers] was admitted to the Texas bar in 1970 and admitted to the DC bar in 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet..._and_education

[Darius871]

Ok, admittedly this one took a few minutes:

[Kagan] took the New York State Bar examination in the summer of 1986 and passed. [Kagan] was formally admitted to the New York State Bar on July 19, 1988 (after the completion of [her] clerkships). [Kagan] was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar without examination on February 17, 1989.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...stionnaire.pdf

[Ben Kenobi]

Good lord, do you even read what you post? This took me precisely 12 seconds of googling:

Ah, forgive me for reading Daily Kos. I had forgotten that Meirs has passed the bar.

I took the New York State Bar examination in the summer of 1986 and passed.

That's according to Kagan. Is there any independent confirmation?

Ahh, ok. I was mistaken. Sorry.

I know there was something new about her. She wasn't a judge on any court. I had thought it was that she wasn't a lawyer.

[Solomwi]