Bloggasm

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

Angry Bear: All of the conservative bloggers that I read, which is not that many, fall more into the “worthy adversary” category than the “create the most spin” category. I tend to not read the spin-creating conservative bloggers because, well, spin is not informative.

But there are definitely worthy conservative blogs. They’re not really “worthy adversaries” per se, because neither I nor my co-bloggers have an adversarial relationship with any of them. Conservative blogs that I put in this category include http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/ , http://voxbaby.blogspot.com/ , http://janegalt.net/, http://www.danieldrezner.com/blog/ , http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/, and Bruce Bartlett — he’s not really a blogger, though).

Simon Owens: Do you think that the term “activist judge” was created by conservatives to describe any judge who didn’t rule in their favor? Is is possible that the constitution is a little too broad so that each side to every issue can be argued to be constitutionally sound?

Angry Bear: I hadn’t given it must thought till now, but “activist judge” does indeed seem to be a term used by conservatives to label judges that issue verdicts they do not like. It’s not unlikely that the term, or some variation thereof, dates back to the days of Brown v. Topeka BOE. Certainly the Bush v. Gore SCOTUS verdict was a statement that federal rights trump states’ rights (the Supreme Court ordered a state to stop counting votes!). And yet most conservatives – otherwise quick to throw “judicial activism” charges – heralded that verdict.

The point is made even more starkly in the recent Oregon assisted suicide case in which the most conservative justices (Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia), the same justices cited as role models by the same conservatives who use “judicial activism” to smear verdicts they dislike, actually voted in favor, yet again, of an usurpation of state’s rights by the federal government. Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia each faced a choice: vote with their hearts (against Oregon’s assisted suicide law) or vote in favor of a Federalist reading of the Constitution. They chose the former course, which is precisely what I think the term “judicial activism” is intended to describe.

As to the breadth of the Constitution, I’m not really an expert in that area. But I do think the vast gray areas are largely manufactured. For example, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” seems fairly clear to me. And yet we’re in the midst of a debate over whether the president can order warrantless searches of U.S. citizens.

Simon Owens: Do you think the two new Supreme Court members will gradually become more liberal as other justices have done in the past?

Angry Bear: Well some have done so. Others have not, notably Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas. Those three have become less conservative in the sense I outlined above (voting in favor of expanded power for the federal government in ways that lead to policy outcomes favored by the Republican base). But they certainly have not become more liberal over time, if “more liberal” means moving remotely in the direction of policy outcomes I would favor.

I have some hope that Roberts will move in a less extremely right direction, though I have no strong basis for that hope other than that he does appear to be both smart and reasonable. Alito looks to be another Scalia, so I hold little hope on that account.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

Angry Bear: I’ll skip over the most well known, even though everyone should be reading those, too, and list five blogs that, while not obscure, are perhaps not as widely read as they should be.

Hullabaloo
Steve Benen
Pharyngula
Fafblog
World O’ Crap

You can find Angry Bear over here