HOLY CRAP! SCOTUS Clerks spill behind-the-scenes Bush v. Gore details

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/9949251.htm

Clerks spill Bush v. Gore details

By Charles Lane
Washington Post

WASHINGTON – The inscription on the front of the Supreme Court building says “Equal Justice Under Law,” but the court’s motto could just as easily be “What Happens Here, Stays Here.” In a town where confidential information travels fast, the justices protect their internal deliberations fiercely – and, usually, successfully.

But in the October issue of Vanity Fair magazine, former Supreme Court law clerks from the court’s 2000-01 term speak out – under cover of anonymity – about what they saw behind the scenes during the fateful case of Bush v. Gore.

(snip)

Most of the criticism in the Vanity Fair piece is aimed at Justices Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, all of whom voted in favor of Bush. Scalia is depicted bullying Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg into watering down her dissenting opinion. O’Connor is described as emotionally fixated on stopping a recount and Kennedy as overly influenced by his right-wing clerks.

...more...

[JUS]

1. spilled milk...

we have to worry about this election...

[fishwax]

3. it effects this election

plenty of undecided or soft * supporters have questions about his candidacy, and when talk of 2000 tends to bring up memories and perhaps lingering questions about his legitimacy.

[Bridget Burke]

6. No, we won't "get over it".....

The Bush regime was illegitimate from the beginning. And there's no doubt that the tactics that worked so well for them will be used again.

[shelley806]

16. They are being Used again

What do you think about the sludge boats vets for falsehood was all about? Can you think of a comparable time in history when the hero became the accused? Why no fuss about * discharge from duty and avoidance in general of fighting in wars himself, (he, Cheney et al would have others die for their arrogance and greed)

Rove has been in full gear since * was unjustly elected.And he's not going to let up. God I hate their lies.

[MissB]

8. If you can't learn from the past

then you have no hope for the future.

[JUS]

9. what I learned from the past is that you fight your election battles

in REAL TIME....

[MissB]

10. And if you do not learn the lessons of the previous election

then you do not have the tools to fight for this one.

[JUS]

14. we got the tools

the lessons are learned...you fight them in REAL TIME and fight them hard.

we are already taking premptive action in Florida...

[WilliamPitt]

11. Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge

Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge Drudge.

[MissB]

13. LOL!

Your best post of the day, Will! Thanks for making me laugh. :evilgrin:

[JUS]

17. Here he is, just for you

since you seem so obsessed...

[MADem]

20. Ugh, you've got me thinking about raw eggs now...ugh! n/t

[AntiCoup2K4]

21. What's up with that picture?

Has Matt seen the Chimp naked?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. You're the one that knew where to find that particular picture....

...and that says more about YOUR obsession with Drudge than it does about Will's.

[demwing]

19. Jeez Will, you HAD to Drudge that up again?

:silly:

[Misunderestimator]

22. LMAO

[Zero Gravitas]

30. We won't "get over it"

sorry, but the anger over the theft of the 2000 election is very real and it will be an additional motivation when it comes to GOTV. We won't let them steal this election as well.

[WI_DEM]

12. This is all about this election

don't you realize that if Bush wins he will appoint 2 or 3 Scalia clones?

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. spilled milk?

Are you kidding?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. "We" who? If you're willing to forget about the 2000 election...

...I don't think we're talking about the same "we".

[JUS]

32. I'm not 'forgetting' about it

Where did I say that...

I only said we're in the middle of another one RIGHT NOW - election battles have to be fought in REAL TIME - otherwise it's to late. - we lose.

[laylah]

33. You are new today

with no REAL defining information in your profile and you have the AUDACITY to come here?? Here where many of us have been since the STOLEN election of 2000, sharing our blood, sweat, and tears, and tell us it is "spilled milk" and that "WE" have to worry about this election! In your defense, we absolutely DO need to WORRY about this election, other than that, go back to whence you came!:mad:
Jenn

[JUS]

34. It is spilled milk - you can't put it back in the container

sorry - but that's just reality...

all you we can try and do is win NOW - that's all that matters....

and stop with the drama stuff - I've been suffering too since 2000 - IOW: you don't know me.

[Kadie]

2. They were talking about this on one of them... gasp.... cable news

programs a few weeks back. LOL

I think it was Vanity Fair that first came out with the story.

[Political_Junkie]

4. Sounded good

until the last two paragraphs. But I'll have to read the Vanity Fair article myself. It sounds like the gazette article is trying to downplay the importance.

[whistle]

5. So elections are no longer about elections and whether the voters...

...get to decide!:wtf: Bully Supreme Court Justices now carry all the weight I guess. :wtf:

[pacalo]

7. I'm glad to see the Washington Post give this VF article more exposure.

I read the article & it's excellent. There's even a disclaimer included in the article that explains that the clerks are sworn to secrecy by Rehnquist (this is s.o.p. for sensitive jobs).

The clerks all drew clear limits on what they would say, but as one clerk said, "In this administration, the FBI is likely to come after us. We feel that something illegitimate was done with the Court's power, and such an extraordinary situation justifies breaking an obligation we'd otherwise honor. Our secrecy was helping to shield some of those actions." To the inevitable charges that they broke their vows of confidentiality, the clerks have a ready response: By taking on Bush v. Gore & deciding the case as it did, the Court broke its promise to them.

Eventually -- one scholar put it at around 2019 -- historians will dip into the papers of the justices, but until then it's unclear how much of what they did they committed to print.

And it doesn't help that the coWard-in-chief manipulated the early retirement of the long-time WH historian & inserted his own hand-picked historian.

[nostamj]

15. it's a VERY eye-opening article...

shame that it isn't online anywhere.

VF drives me insane with it's 85 billion pages of ads, perfume inserts, article placement, etc... but...

they do print some amazing stuff!

[jefferson_dem]

28. Full VF article in two PDF files here --

http://www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog/files/VFPart1.pdf
http://www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog/files/VFPart2.pdf

[KT2000]

18. It was worse than we knew

but what remains is how what they did could affect this election. If the RW media calls it for Bush early then he could be protected by their decision that "Bush would suffer irreparable harm" if there were recounts in a close race.
Of course they said that their decision would not apply to any other, but we know they mean in the case of a Democrat being called the winner.

Wonder if there is a way to pre-empt such a thing from happening.

[Zorra]

23. No surprise, they stole the election. Never, ever get over it. Ever.

After Kerry is elected, electronic voting machines are going in the toilet, and election laws are going to be reviewed and made as fraud proof as possible.

Few things could be more terrifying to a republican than this.

[shivaji]

27. In the end, the 5:4 SCOTUS will kill Kerry like they killed Gore

That is a recurring nightmare. Now I know why the old farts
did not resign and give chimpy a chance to appoint new faces.
They wanted to hang around until 2004 just to insure chimp's
re-election. You can never trust the new faces, for example
SOUTER was a repug appointee.

The 2004 election is even more likely to end up in courts,
and all roads lead to SCOTUS.

[Jacobin]

29. I read that in VF a couple of weeks back. Bought the damn

mag so I could read it.

Amazing what they had to say. Absolutely breathtaking to read in the first person how a coup d'etat took place in this country.

These 5 treasonous assholes should be tried for treason and sent to jail.

They are the Worst of the Worst.

[texasmom]

31. It is still too painful and infuriating

for me to read. It just makes me crazy that this happened in my country.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

35. kick