Over-the-top rhetoric isn’t unusual for some of Congress’ leading Republicans, but when it comes to the federal judiciary, some of these guys push the envelope pretty hard. And then some.
Tom DeLay, as you’ll recall, made some veiled threats against judges after the Terri Schiavo controversy. Shortly thereafter, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said judges who are the victims of violence may bring the attacks onto themselves with liberal rulings. Just as the rhetoric started to cool down again, DeLay returned to the subject, insisting that the federal courts had “run amok” and needed to be reined in.
As John Cole noted today, this was “blatant pandering to the lunatic wing of the religious right.” And as it turns out, some of the vitriol also became rather dangerous.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor have been the targets of death threats from the “irrational fringe” of society, people apparently spurred by Republican criticism of the high court.
Ginsburg revealed in a speech in South Africa last month that she and O’Connor were threatened a year ago by someone who called on the Internet for the immediate “patriotic” killing of the justices.
Like John , I appreciate the fact DeLay, Cornyn, and other Republican office holders aren’t directly responsible for how lunatics respond their comments. These guys aren’t literally advocating violence against judges.
But I can’t help but note the inconsistencies of the approach taken by people like DeLay. They insist that Hollywood poisons the culture with negative ideas that ultimately turn into dangerous behavior. But when DeLay makes veiled threats against judges, and far-right activists respond criminally, the “era of responsibility” ends and he’s not to blame. One thing’s for sure: DeLay and his cohorts don’t mind stoking some pretty dangerous fires.