When we hear the terms "Federalist" v. "Anti-Federalist" today, we are not talking about the same sorts of folks as were involved in the founding of the US.
Today those terms refer to the far right group, The Federalist Society. Bush is bent on nominating judges who are members. He has refused to allow the ABA to rate judges, something that has long been done - and done by a nonpartisan and experienced group. In fact, the Federalist Society has an ABA Watch section - keeping an eye on the ABA as if it were some far left group.
Apparently Roberts now denies any connections with the Federalists - but they still love him.
But there is so much more to this group, so let me show you around a bit.
The Federalist Society is a full service organization. It provides a handy link for journalists looking for pundits with "Expertise on Legal Issues from a Conservative and Libertarian Perspective." These days they have front-paged this service. The phones are probably ringin' off the hook.
So if you are a journalist looking for "balance" or just highly placed lawyers, your search has ended:
As a service, the Federalist Society has compiled a list of experts who can provide analysis and commentary on the role of the Court, the legacy of the Rehnquist Court, and the wide range of issues that will arise in connection with a nomination and in the course of the advice and consent process. The experts are former Supreme Court clerks or otherwise have special expertise on these topics. In the event of a Supreme Court vacancy these issues and others will be much discussed. We believe the experts can help contribute to and enlighten the public discussion. They will be available on short notice. The experts will be speaking on their own behalf and not as representatives of the Federalist Society.Requests for experts should be directed to Sean McCabe (Smccabe@crc4pr.com) or Keith Appell (Kappell@crc4pr.com) Either can be reached at 703-683-5004.
And if you are not in the media but are just morbidly curious, you can see which of their members, ready to do battle on any number of issues, inlcuding due process, cyberspace, election law, the establishment clause, weapons, and so very much more. Some of these Federalists may be your neighbors - they certainly are mine. Just click here - and indulge your voyeuristic tendencies.
We should be hearing a lot about these folks now that one of their own http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/18/federalist.society.ap/ has been nominated for the Supreme Court. Some other examples include Michigan judges - Judge Paul Gadola: A Win for the Federalists and here many of the recent appointees whose names you will recognize.
The organization has been funded by wealthy conservatives, such as Richard Mellon Scaife, who is vice chair of the Heritage Foundation's board, and another board member, Holland Coors, a member of the conservative Coors family. Many contributions are made through foundations that give to Right-wing causes, including the John M. Olin Foundation in New York, the Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee and the Deer Creek Foundation in St. Louis.
The Federalists have direct ties to Right-wing think tanks seeking to dismantle affirmative action at the local, state and federal levels. The Center for Individual Rights, which successfully argued the Hopwood case that banned affirmative action at the University of Texas, represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit pending against the University of Michigan and were lawyers for supporters of Proposition 209, the anti-affirmative action measure in California. The Washington Legal Foundation sued the University of Maryland, forcing it to drop its Benjamin Banneker scholarships for African-American scholars; the Southeastern Legal Foundation is leading an all-out assault on affirmative action in Atlanta, and the Institute for Justice led the attack on Lani Guinier, then a University of Pennsylvania law professor, who was President Clinton's first choice to be assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights. Clint Bolick, the group's vice president, dismissed Guinier as a "quota queen," and the eventual nominee, Deval L. Patrick, as a "quota king." He also led the opposition to the appointment of Bill Lann Lee, who was later named acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.
When first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said that there was a "vast Right-wing conspiracy" afoot that had been hounding her husband since he first announced for president, some Right-wingers almost laughingly dismissed her charges. Special Prosecutor Ken Starr called the comments "nonsense." And Boston Herald columnist Joe Fitzgerald said the first lady had "wandered into paranoia."
But information developed by the Institute for Democracy Studies, a nonprofit research and education organization in New York, confirms that the first lady was on the mark.
In the executive summary of its report, "The Assault on Affirmative Action: An Organized Challenge to Racial and Gender Justice," the organization notes, "Once a month at the Heritage Foundation, representatives of the nation's leading conservative law groups get together for a `luncheon.' This so-called Public Interest Legal Group meeting is just one of several monthly gatherings that right-wing law groups hold."
The report continues: "These meetings serve the purpose of avoiding duplication of effort, airing future plans, and providing guidance for an appropriate organizational division of labor."
. . .and so on.
For some - only some - lists with names of members - names you will know, here are a few sites:
Federalist Society - Michigan Chapter - Detroit
People for the American Way - Right Wing Watch - Federalist Society includes a list of Federalist Society Members in the Bush Administration.
So browse around one little corner of the vast right wing conspiracy.
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