No wait! It's Texas.

Senator John Cornyn is trying to out-do Ton DeLay for biggest wacko idealogue in congress.

I thought the senate was suppossed to be where calmer heads prevailed.

The honorable senator said of our judicial branch:

"...it causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions. And no one, including those judges, including the judges on the United States Supreme Court, should be surprised if one of us stands up and objects.

And, Mr. President, I?m going to make clear that I object to some of the decision-making process that is occurring at the United States Supreme Court today and now. I believe that insofar as the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policy-maker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people, it has led to the increasing divisiveness and bitterness of our confirmation fights.

That is a very current problem that this body faces today. It has generated a lack of respect for judges generally. [Wonder where that comes from?]

I mean, why should people respect a judge for making a policy decision borne out of an ideological conviction any more than they would respect or deny themselves the opportunity to disagree if that decision were made by an elected representative?

Of course the difference is that they can throw the rascal ? the rascal out ? and we are sometimes perceived as the rascal ? if they don?t like the decisions that we make. But they can?t vote against a judge because judges aren?t elected. They serve for a lifetime on the federal bench.

And, indeed, I believe this increasing politicalization of the judicial decision-making process at the highest levels of our judiciary have bred a lack of respect for some of the people that wear the robe. And that is a national tragedy.

And finally, I don?t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that?s been on the news.

And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in violence. Certainly without any justification but a concern that I have that I wanted to share.

You know, it?s ironic, if you look back, as we all have, being students of history in this body, all of us have been elected to other ? to other bodies and other offices and we?re all familiar with the founding documents, the declaration of independence, the constitution itself, we?re familiar with the federalist papers that were written in an effort to get the constitution ratified in New York state. Well, Alexander

Hamilton, apropos of what I want to talk about here, authored a series of essays in the Federalist Papers that opined that the judicial branch would be what he called the ? quote ? ?least dangerous branch of government.? The ?least dangerous branch.?

He pointed out that the judiciary lacked the power of the executive branch, the white house, for example, and the federal government and the political passions of the legislature. In other words, the congress. Its sole purpose ? that is, the federal judiciary?s sole purpose was to objectively interpret and apply the laws of the land and in?"

Jackass!!!

Feel free to write Mr. Cornyn and let him know how you feel.

I did.

"Dear Senator Cornyn-

Your recent statements regarding the judicial branch of government are totally unacceptable. If you had an ounce of self respect or honor, you would resign, but you don't.

You are a crass opportunist playing a very dangerous game with our way of governemnt.

You say, "...I believe this increasing politicalization of the judicial decision-making process at the highest levels of our judiciary have bred a lack of respect for some of the people that wear the robe. And that is a national tragedy."

What is a national tragedy is republicans of your ilk who are politicizing the judicial decision-making process for your own ends. If people are having trouble respecting the robe, it it mainly because of you sir.

Shame on you.!"