Facts? They don't need no stinking facts

July 14, 2009 9:51 am ET by Jamison Foser

Newsbusters' Warner Todd Huston complains about Jeffrey Toobin's reference to Ruth Bader Ginsberg as a "cautious and careful liberal":

In his July 13 piece, for instance, Toobin calls Sotomayor a "cautious and careful liberal" like Ginsburg and Breyer.

...

Since when is Ginsburg a "cautious and careful liberal"? She was, after all, once the chief litigator for women's rights for the extremely leftist group the ACLU. The reason she was picked by President Bill Clinton to take a seat on the Court is because she was an activist liberal. Not "cautious" in the least.

Well, that would be news to conservative Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who recommended that Clinton choose Ginsburg. And it would be news to Yale Law School professor Paul Gewirtz, whose study found that from 1994 to 2005, Ginsberg was the second least activist member of the Supreme Court - far less activist in her votes than Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, among others.

But never mind those inconvenient facts: Warner Todd Huston says Bill Clinton chose Ginsburg "because she was an activist liberal." So it must be true. Warner Todd Huston wouldn't just make that up.

Expand All Expand 1st Level Collapse All

- by mk3872 (July 14, 2009 10:00 am ET)
  2
  
  BTW, the ACLU is not "leftist". They will defend civil liberties for ANYONE, not just lefties or righties.
  
  But I guess what Newsbusters is saying is that defending civil liberties is a "liberal" notion ...
  
  Reply Report Abuse
  - by Easy to refute wingnuts (July 14, 2009 10:15 am ET)
    
    Correct. The ACLU even defended that raging liberal Rush Limbaugh.
    
    Reply Report Abuse
  - by puttforever4682 (July 14, 2009 10:35 am ET)
    
    Exactly. By the way O'Reilly also refers to the ACLU as a far leftist organization. Incredible.
    
    Reply Report Abuse
  - by magnolialover (July 14, 2009 10:40 am ET)
    
    I also always find it funny that conservatives like to use the ACLU as some far left organization. OK, if they are, then the Constitution, and specifically the Bill of Rights must be a far left document, because that's what the ACLU defends at every single turn of their day.
    
    I do believe, because the ACLU has made a strong stand on divided church and State, this is where these yahoos get the talking point of the ACLU being "far left", even though, they're not. The ACLU believes in the Constitution of this country, and defends it. Just because there are right wingers who don't like what they do doesn't make them far left by any strech of the imagination.
    
    Some should have a look at their cases, and what they've defended over the years, and filed suit on over the years. The ACLU works for our rights as Americans, and that's it. They have no political agenda, although it might be telling that some of their cases do involve what might be considered "left" issues. Turns out, there are lot of right wingers who don't like the rights afforded to us in the Constitution, and are always trying to sway things over to their side.
    
    Reply Report Abuse
  - by progressiveright (July 14, 2009 11:12 am ET)
    
    Of course if you are a hate group ie. the KKK the ACLU might just give you an attorney from one or more of the groups you practice hate against. This realy happend in a first admendment case.
    
    Reply Report Abuse
- by hisroyalmattness (July 14, 2009 10:15 am ET)
  
  Calling the ACLU is just part of the right wing standard operating procedure. Carpet bomb with false information. What better way of distracting people from their straw man argument they draw attention away from it with another false statement. In saying both Ginsburg is an activist judge and the ACLU is an extremely leftist group it just distracts. They want people to defend the facts about Ginsburg and the ACLU so they will not get around to defending Sotomayor.
  
  Reply Report Abuse
- by o rly (July 14, 2009 11:24 am ET)
  
  I think it's very telling that conservatives consider civil liberties extreme and leftist.
  
  We want these people in charge?
  
  *shiver*
  
  Reply Report Abuse

Facts? They don't need no stinking facts

Most Popular Tags

RSS Feeds


	Username or Email Password Forgot your password? or Create An Account Email Username (required, for posting on forums) Zip Code Click here to subscribe to Media Matters action alerts and newsletters. or Log in to an existing account

Facts? They don't need no stinking facts

Most Popular Tags

RSS Feeds

Connect & Share