By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Having seen over the years protesters engaged in voicing their grievances in fashions ranging from the peaceful to the violent, I believe it is incumbent to provide a guidelines in the hope of furthering a cause without the distractions that spill over into not only silencing important messages but preventing consequences that hurt others.
I propose the idea of Honorable Civil Disobedience.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the legacy and vision or Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. The departure of Kennedy will leave the Supreme Court more calcified and rigid in its ideological division. Chief Justice John Roberts now assumes the role of the swing vote with a center of gravity that will likely move further to the right. His voice was unique and often profound. He applied a conservative jurisprudence that emphasized the protection of individual rights and identity. Time will show that Kennedy saw a horizon for our society that we are still struggling to attain.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Kennedy Retirement Leaves The Court Without A Center of Gravity and Grace”
For years, Democratic activists and analysts have complained about the negative impact of Nancy Pelosi on their efforts to take back the House of Representatives and forge a new party coalition. Pelosi, 78, has consistently remained one of the two least popular Democrats in Washington. The other was Hillary Clinton. So why would the Democratic Party rig a primary for Clinton and keep Pelosi when fighting to curtail Trump? The answer is found in what these leaders offer establishment figures not what they offer the party, the public, or the country. They deliver in jobs and money for powerful allies who see no personal advantage in supporting other candidates. The dominance of self-interest is evident in yet another poll showing that forty-five percent of registered voters say they are less likely to support a candidate who backs the California Democrat for House speaker should her party win a House majority in November. It is a fascinating (and familiar) pattern as the party establishment maintains a leader who is clearly a drain on efforts to retake Congress. Those who support Trump want Pelosi to remain in her position and are running commercials across the country featuring the prospect of her returning as Speaker. Yet, faced with yet another anti-establishment electorate, Democrats are again offering the same establishment leaders.
We previously discussed the ridiculous and dishonest health care system with hospitals charge absurd amounts in a system designed for padded and dishonest billing. The latest example comes from a family on vacation to San Francisco who took their two-year-old son into the emergency room of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital after he hit his head. After a brief check up, Jeong-whan was cleared by doctors and, after a brief nap, he was released. The family was hit two years later with an $18,000 bill.
The announced retirement of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy has rocked Washington. I have columns that will be coming out in both the Washington Post and The Hill addressing different aspects of this news. However, the departure of the last Reagan nominee is obviously the end of an era for the Supreme Court as an institution. As someone with well-known libertarian leanings, I have always had a strong identification with Kennedy’s jurisprudence. While conservative in his approach, Kennedy believed that the most sacred role of the Constitution was to protect individuals in quest for meaning and identification in their lives. I always found Kennedy both personally and judicially to be a man of grace and profound sensitivity. I have long dreaded his leaving the Court, which will be the worst for his departure.
Continue reading “Justice Kennedy Rocks Washington With Retirement”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the travel ban in Trump v. Hawaii. While the case has been buried in the crush of coverage over the resignation of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the opinion is a shot across the bow for lower courts in their treatment of the relevant record for such disputes. It also answers some lingering questions over the conduct of key figures like Sally Yates.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Travel Ban and The Court’s Red Hen Moment”
Both Democrats and Republicans have denounced the decision of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia not to serve White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. Many of us have called for greater civility, but one West Virginia man took a curious approach to instilling civility . . . by tossing chicken feces at the restaurant. Reginald Scott See, 51, is now charged with littering and disorderly conduct. Continue reading “Man Travels From West Virginia To Protest The Incivility Of The Red Hen . . . By Throwing Feces At The Restaurant”
There was a curious shift that occurred in the 24 hours leading up to the decision of the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii. News organizations repeatedly emphasized that the travel ban under consideration was, in the words of CNN, “very different” from the one first issued by the Trump Administration and the current order was much narrower. It is certainly true that the current travel ban has a slightly different array of countries and a much enhanced record. Moreover, I was a critic of the poorly drafted and poorly executed original ban. However, it is not true that those differences carried the day with the Court. The two threshold issues remained that same and, until the loss yesterday, challengers maintained that the legal issues had not materially changed.
Continue reading “The Supreme Spin: How The Travel Ban Victory Became A Victory For Critics”
The irresponsibility of our leaders has now given the country a fiscal terminal date: 2028. That is the date that the Congressional Budget Office now calculates as the point where our debt will virtually equal the value of our gross domestic policy. As countries like Greece have gone into a free fall with such reckless spending, both parties have put the United States on the same course for economic meltdown as politicians continue to avoid tough questions with higher spending — including yielding to the Trump Administration’s demand to left balanced budget limits.
I have a column in The Hill today on the decision of the Supreme Court in favor of the Trump Administration on the travel ban. After the first travel ban decision, I predicted that (while lower courts might disagree) the Supreme Court would reverse on the heavy reliance on President Donald Trump’s campaign statements and tweets. For prior columns, click here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here. Nevertheless, critics have cried foul at the 5-4 decision, including Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, has said that this creates a dangerous imbalance in the separation of powers. I believe the opposite is true.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Upholds Travel Ban In Major Victory For The Trump Administration”
There is an interesting account of the recent controversy at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va. from the father of White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders that has gone largely unreported. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has claimed that Stephanie Wilkinson “organized” a group to follow Sanders and her family to a nearby restaurant to scream at them. That is strikingly different from Wilkinson’s account and the account being offered in the media that Wilkinson politely asked Sanders to leave and nothing more. The many stories lionizing Wilkinson have cited her “passive” protest as proof of her “leadership.” If true, the account magnifies the rude and uncivil conduct of Wilkinson and it is clearly material to the story. Yet, only a few conservative sites have carried Huckabee’s account. Continue reading “Huckabee: Wilkinson Led Group Out Of Red Hen To Protest Sanders Eating At Another Restaurant”
It was in vogue in past years for Republicans to call for the elimination of the IRS, a ridiculous and demagogic call. Now Democrats appear to have their own demagogic rallying cry in suggesting the elimination of ICE. Various Democrats went to the airways in the last week to suggest that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be abolished, including Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) who wrote in a Medium pos that ICE had to be abolished “to protect our families.” Sen. Kamala Harris (D. Cal.) also said that the elimination of ICE might have to be occur to protect innocent people. New York Democratic candidate and former “Sex in the City” star Cynthia Nixon went as far to call ICE a “terrorist organization” and demanded its abolishment.
Continue reading ““It Is A Terrorist Organization”: Leading Democrats Call For Abolishing ICE”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper about the passing of my friend Charles Krauthammer. I spoke on Fox News about Charles, who was an extraordinary mind and an extraordinary man.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Life and Genius of Charles Krauthammer”
Recently we discussed the disturbing protest carried out at the MXDC restaurant against Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Members of Congress like Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Cal.) defended the protesters in disrupting the restaurant and forcing Nielsen to leave. It was a sad statement on the utter loss of any sense of civility in our current political discourse. Now, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia is at the center of this debate after throwing out White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and her family from breakfast. Many liberals celebrated the rude denial of service by the owners while conservatives have directed their anger at the restaurant. Much of the criticism has been misdirected against the Red Hen in D.C. which has gone to pains to point out that they are not associated with the Lexington Red Hen. Many critics on Yelp and other sites have unleashed on the restaurant. The co-owner responsible for the decision was Stephanie Wilkinson. Wilkinson founded the restaurant with John Blackburn, who reportedly named the restaurant after his favorite childhood story. Wilkinson is reportedly the founder and publisher of Brain, Child magazine. She lists herself as a co-owner of the restaurant. UPDATE: Wilkinson says that she is proud of her actions and would do it again.
Continue reading “No Breakfast For You: Red Hen Kicks Out Sarah Sanders And Her Family [UPDATED]”
The Supreme Court overruled its prior decisions in a historic decision this week that will allow politicians to tap into Internet sales with new taxes. President Donald Trump has praised the decision in allowing Internet sales to be now subject to taxation from all 50 states. The decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair overturns the prior 1992 ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (what is it about those Dakotas and Internet taxes?). South Dakota wanted to take a cut of Internet sales even though these business have no property or employees in the state. To do so, the Supreme Court had to guy its prior requirement of a physical presence in a given state. It just did by a vote of 5-4. The opinion also contains a body blow to the doctrine of stare decisis (“to stand on the decisions”) under which the Court strives to maintain its own prior decisions. We now have a doctrine of abdicare decisis (“To ignore the decisions).