Trying read the Mind of Bush....re: Dred Scott

[Hobo]

I think he was using that in a local reference about St. Louis. The Old Federal Court House (the one with dome) is where the Dred Scott case was filed. I believe Shrub was trying to prove to the locals that he knew some Missouri history. Of course like all others things he has tried as president, he botched it.

Hobo

[Ruffhowse]

1. Yeah, now I'm confused, does he support slavery or not?

[teach1st]

2. I think it means he supports...

...the activist judges who eventually overturned the strict literal interpretation of the Constitution in the Dred Scott Decision.

[Ruffhowse]

3. But I thought he was using it as an example of how activist judges were

bad. The Dred Scott decision was a strict constructionist decision and was one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever. I think Chimpy just didn't have a clue what the hell he was talking about.

[punpirate]

5. He was trying to, but the argument is a little strange...

... especially since "strict constructionism" is another right wing code phrase for "states' rights" which is yet another code phrase for, well, among other things, property rights reign supreme.

In a back-handed way, he might have been reminding Missouri that it was a slave state, and I have no idea how that will play today. He may have actually lost a little support from the hard right for saying it was a bad decision, whether he understands the case or not.

Whatever his motives for mentioning it, it still stood as yet another evasion of a question, and Kerry rather neatly skewered him with one of Bush's own earlier remarks about Scalia and Thomas, which clearly indicates that Bush was attempting to be evasive about his own true sentiments.

[andym]

4. very amusing

Actually he was using Dred Scott as an example of liberal judges putting slavery into the constitution. Perhaps he didn't remember the 3/5ths of a person rule for apportioning congressional districts-- the "other (than free) persons" referred to are slaves.

[Toucano]

7. Spooky

How little he knows about the Constitution, isn't it? I mean, this is the PRESIDENT? I don't think so.

Why else would we have the Reconstruction amendments if the original constitution prohibited slavery?

I am so glad America is seeing through this farce.

[Contrary1]

6. He probably

didn't think anyone would bother checking on it...
kinda like the Cheney factcheck blooper last week.

[shraby]

8. Actually he probably had no idea what

was but heard the words before and knew it was a court case of some sort.

[Stephanie]

9. He can't do ANYTHING right!

What a loser!

[Rageneau]

10. I can't help thinking he meant Randolph Scott.

It's more likely he would have heard of Randolph than Dred.

[ContinentalOp]

11. No no, he was just showing where he would draw the line RE: SCOTUS judges.

Judges who support the Dred Scott decision: a big no. Pretty much anything else = fair game. I thought it was a fair explanation of his stance: Bush/Cheney 04 -- Slightly more moderate than the average slavery supporter.