What is the Federalist Society ?

[ColbertWatcher]

The Federalist Society is in the news again because Mukasey collapsed at one of their functions, so this is as good a time as any to discuss exactly what a "Federalist Society" is.

DISCLAIMER:
This post is not meant to minimize Attorney General Mukasey's illness. Nor is it in any way to be interpreted as a slight against him, his well-being or his loved ones.

The OP wishes no harm toward him or his family and hopes he gets the very best medical care available under his government health plan.

What is the Federalist Society ?

Instead of linking directly to their official website, let's see what Wikip*dia has to say about them:

"... the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives and libertarians seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with an originalist interpretation of the constitution. The Federalist Society began at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged what its members perceived as the orthodox American liberal ideology found in most law schools. The Society "is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."

The Society currently has chapters at over 180 United States law schools and claims a membership of over 20,000 practicing attorneys (organized as "alumni chapters" within the Society's "Lawyers Division") in sixty cities. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Through speaking events, lectures, and other activities, the Federalist Society provides a forum for legal experts of opposing views to interact with members of the legal profession, the judiciary, law students, and academics."

Five things about the Wikip*dia article jump out immediately (emphasis added):

1.

"... organization of conservatives and libertarians seeking reform of the current American legal system ..."

2.

"... in accordance with an originalist interpretation of the constitution."

3.

"... that challenged what its members perceived as the orthodox American liberal ideology ..."

So, here is this group that started because the members fell into that belief that conservatives are somehow oppressed because liberals are everywhere and as a result, the entire system needs reforming back to a time that never existed, but when their interpretation of some mythical "original" Constitution just so happened to coincide with their freshly-invented beliefs.

The fourth point about the Federalist Society comes a little later on down the page:

4.

"The society was begun by a group including Edwin Meese, Robert Bork, Ted Olson and Steven Calabresi, and its members have included Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Jr. and Samuel Alito."

What makes this disturbing is that despite this past election where there was an overwhelming turn-out all across the nation for Democratic candidates and liberal ideals, here is this fringe group that promotes an agenda that is conspicuously out of touch with the rest of the country, yet has three members in the one branch of the federal government that is neither elected, nor accountable to anyone.

The Federalist Society has a choke-hold on our judiciary in the same way creationists and IDers have a death grip on our science education.

Both the Federalist Society and creationist/IDers believe that the systems they seek to control need "reform."

The Federalist Society believes the Constitution is static and unchanging in much the same way the creationist/IDers believe scientific knowledge is frozen in Biblical times.

And finally, both the Federalist Society and creationist/IDers cast themselves as some kind of heroic outsider fighting against the system that needs the type of reforming only they can provide. Their push for this "false populism" that demands equal time for their extremist, unsubstantiated views is intellectually dishonest.

Together these beliefs share a failure in logic. Their perception that some kind of ideological oppression exists and should result in reform along with the ill-conceived notion that current understanding and the many years of development giving rise to this understanding should be negated because it differs from the original understanding shows a basic misunderstanding of cause and effect as well as a severe case of dissonance.

Again, we go to Wikip*dia for the definition of originalism,

(O)riginalism is a family of theories central to all of which is the proposition that the Constitution has a fixed and knowable meaning, which was established at the time of its drafting.

If this is not tantamount to infallibility, then nothing is.

No system--legal or education--needs the conservative, right wing brand of reform just because they say it does. Nor are they the sole arbiter of history just because they say they are. And, finally, they cannot declare law or knowledge isolated from evolution just because it leaves their preferred ideology behind.

Finally, the fifth peculiarity about the Federalist Society, is a line the editors of Wikip*dia quoted directly from the Society's official website,

5.

"... the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."

This is nothing short of a cop-out and the type of cowardice behind John Yoo's torture memo that sought to interpret the law not to protect the victims of an un-Constitutional policy, but to protect his bosses from accountability. Yoo's bosses hoped he would be able to narrow the letter of the law, while they freely ignored the spirit of it.

An unidentified Bush aide once famously declared,

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."^{N Y Times}

Whatever one believes, no one can choose their own facts. Yoo cannot say his bosses did not torture just because he invented an interpretation of the words on the paper that dismissed the blood on the floor. It is no accident that the Federalist Society and creationist/IDers found an ideological home with the GOP, since both refused or were simply are unable to accept reality as it is.

If the GOP want to continue to exist, they're going to have to get out of their philosophical bubble and join reality. And, if we reality-based people want the GOP to disappear, we're going to have to dislodge the creationst/IDers from education and the Federalist Society from their position in the legal community.

We may have won the election, but the GOP is still entrenched in our institutions.

[tekisui]

1. And, his speech was all about how well chimpy has done with

and since the 9/11 attacks. Opportunistic, self-serving, revisionist, fear-mongering and apologist for war crimes.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. The poor guy was the one to get sick and not the Chimp. n/t

[peacetalksforall]

2. Excellent work, Colbert Watcher. Exemplary. There are so many

people who have no idea about their agenda. They have nearly succeeded in replacing our Constitution with their Constitution.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Thank you.

I'm hoping we can stop them (and the creationist/IDers) before they replace all our good work with their shoddy crap.

[malaise]

36. Great thread indeed

Do they want to reintroduce slavery and are black people still 3/4 human?

[ColbertWatcher]

38. I wouldn't put it past them. n/t

[pjt7]

3. They are the competent legal guy's

that have protected every criminal move by this administration.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. It's the only thing they do "well" (so to speak). n/t

[hootinholler]

27. I submit their competence remains to be verified.

Clearly the Bybee memo is a legal outrage. Unfortunately it will be our children who will live with the results of appointing 3 supremes with their worldview.

-Hoot

[ColbertWatcher]

28. I think it might be a great time to see a new thread on the Bybee memo! n/t

[mmonk]

6. A den of legal vipers.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. We need to get some legal mongooses. n/t

[Loki]

9. We have our own,

American Constitution Society for Law and Policy

Organization
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) promotes the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental values it expresses: individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and the rule of law. These abiding principles are reflected in the vision of the Constitution's framers and the wisdom of forward-looking leaders who have shaped our law throughout American history. As a result of their efforts, the Constitution has retained its authority and relevance for each new generation.

In recent years, an activist conservative legal movement has gained influence - eroding these enduring values and presenting the law as a series of sterile abstractions. This new orthodoxy, which threatens to dominate our courts and our laws, does a grave injustice to the American vision.

The American Constitution Society embraces the progress our nation has made toward full embodiment of the Constitution's core values. ACS believes that law can and should be a force for improving the lives of all people. We are revitalizing and transforming legal and policy debates in classrooms, courtrooms, legislatures and the media, and we are building a diverse and dynamic network of progressives committed to justice. Through these efforts, ACS will ensure that the institutions of American law reflect the highest values of our nation and serve the needs of its people.






http://www.acsblog.org/about-us-organization.html

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Oh good! Thank you for posting! n/t

[JHB]

16. Not quite opposite numbers...

ACS was formed to counter the actual partisanship of the FS.

FS was formed to counter the perceived partisanship of the American Bar Association, with the express purpose of putting politically conservative judges on the bench.

[ColbertWatcher]

17. Yup. How long do you think it will take to get rid of them? n/t

[JJ]

18. Didn't they used to be called the Madison Society or something?

[ColbertWatcher]

29. I've never heard that, but then again, I don't know too much about their prior incarnations. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

10. Through The Looking Glass...

The "federalist" society as others have cited, and your article does as well, is a coven of right wing autocrats who have parsed the Constitution and any associated writing with it (they're heavy on the Federalist Papers as their counterweight to virtually anything good in the Constitution) to put a nice schollarly shine on their autocratic and now facist mindset of the world and this country.

There's nothing I can think of on the left that comes close to this "think tank" whose sole purpose is to justify the perversion of the Constitution...and, I see quite an irony here of Muckasey being struck down as he was both defending this corrupt regime (that he's so ably enabled) and their abuses of human rights and the Constitution. May he recover, but may it be a nice slow convelence that takes a minimum of three months. He's done enough damage.

[JJ]

11. You neglected to mention...

that they are totally full of crap on their "strict constructionalism" and "original intent" nonsense too. They just make shit up as they go along to justify whatever political position they wish to further at the moment.
For instance, none of them seem to have noticed the 9th amendment to the constitution.
They operate on the fallacy that the constitution "grants" rights to citizens, which is exactly the opposite of the position of the original Federalists. The ninth amendment was the compromise to get a "bill of rights" into the Constitution over the objections of the Federalists because they felt that to do so would lead to the very nonsense they (the Federalist Society) are preaching, ie. that the people have no rights other than those spelled out in the constitution.

[ColbertWatcher]

14. "They just make shit up as they go along" I wouldn't be surprised if they all had t-shirts. n/t

[formercia]

25. The Federalist Society doesn't believe in amendments

All voters should be White land-owning males who own slaves.

[TexasObserver]

13. The Federalist Society is a bunch of pseudo conservatives who worship long dead radicals.

They claim to want a strict construction of the constitution, but what they really mean is:

They want to go back to the days only white, male landowners voted.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. I don't even think they know what "conservative" means any more! n/t

[peekaloo]

19. K & R

Thanks.

[ColbertWatcher]

30. You're welcome. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. Yep, and they have a test center in a city in Feeney's old district.

[ColbertWatcher]

31. What could they be doing at this "test center?" n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

35. I was being facetious.

Imagine a dream world for Libertarians where property rights ruled and there was no one protecting the public interest and the courts and legislature were quietly on your side. That exists in Feeney's district, and the state is moving in that direction because it's been going on for decades, quietly under the noses of Floridians who are too transient or self-absorbed or easily bought to recognize the trends. And certainly, the papers allowed it to happen without educating people of what was happening.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. How sad and frightening. When is he up for re-election? n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

45. He's done. Publicly. A dem won.

But around here, that doesn't mean anything. Libertarianism, or crony capitalism, has allures that resonate to everyone. i.e. anyone can be bought.

There's still a private sector out here where most people don't even realize that Libertarianism is alive and running the government. People just call it the good ole boy network, but if it was that easy, it would have been put down by now. This is something different. Something that has the secret support of too many in the courts and legislature. If they actually called it Libertarianism, there would be an insurrection. I think, though, I came across a term which makes sense: institutional malfeasance.

Funny that it's been happening right under our noses, causing so much havoc with community development and I finally can see it clearly.

[ColbertWatcher]

47. That's Florida's Fightin' Twenty-Fourth, right?

You're welcome to post what you know on the Truthiness Encyclopedia page for your district (http://www.wikiality.com/Congress/House/Florida_Distric... )

But, don't forget to sign up for a free account so your IP address isn't seen by anyone.

[The Backlash Cometh]

51. I'll take a look at it. Thanks!

[ColbertWatcher]

52. You're welcome. n/t

[nichomachus]

21. Treasonous conspiracy

According to one writer at Salon, "In 1982, Edwin Meese, Rehnquist and other first-generation legal conservatives reached out to law students and encouraged the founding of a new organization: the Federalist Society. Funded generously by Richard Mellon Scaife and patrons, the Federalist Society became a national networking organization that nurtured young conservatives and swiftly became the crucial channel to Supreme Court clerkships and prestigious jobs in the Reagan administration.

In 'Closed Chambers,' former clerk Lazarus outlines how Federalist Society clerks formed a self-described "cabal against the libs" to push justices in a rightward direction. Conservative donors like Scaife were encouraged to endow professorships and to fund conferences and training institutes to tutor judges in corporate deregulation and other articles of conservative legal faith."

Real Americans have to ask themselves the same thing they ask about the neo-conservatives who dragged the USA into an unnecessary and unwinnable war in Iraq, at what point does such an elite conspiracy become un-American? In the case of Federalist Society, when does conservative ideological subversion of judicial neutrality rise to the level of treason?

http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Federalist_Society

[RedLetterRev]

26. Exactly - with a glossy name they stole from an equally odious

group from Revolutionary times.

It's not just comprised of lawyers and judges. NC's Senator Richard Burr is also one of these treasonous bastids as well. With a little looking, one of your own repuke senators or members of the house of reprehensibles may be a member, too. I absolutely hold membership in a treasonous, or at best subversive society as a reason for immediate removal from office, prosecution, incarceration, and -- if their activities warrant -- more severe penalties for acting against the Constitution and the government of the United States.

This incarnation of the Federalist Society are every bit as subversive and anti-American as any outside spy, mole, or agent could be. What makes them unforgiveable is their American citizenship -- something else they should lose for their subversive activities.

Conservatives? My ass. These are not conservatives at all. These are treasonous snakes wearing a name-tag that says "conservative" on it. That's the only thing "conservative" about them. Anything else behind that name-tag is purest subversion and treason. Indeed, when their goal is the overthrow of the Constitution (and therefore the American system of government), what else could one possibly call it?

[ColbertWatcher]

32. Good point and thank you for posting the Dkosopedia link. n/t

[librechik]

22. They cherish the notion that the US needs fewer human rights and a monarchy-like ruler

Turning back the clock to 1775 since 1776

[Stop Cornyn]

23. The Federalist Society = Lawyers for Limbaugh

[jberryhill]

24. The KKK, with J.D.'s /nt

[TahitiNut]

33. If the entire membership of the Federalist Society were to die in a common disaster ...

... I'd party hearty. I'd pretend I was Irish and attend wakes. I'd celebrate and have faith that (their) God had "called them home" - their Final Reward. I say this even knowing that a former close friend and fraternity brother, a Judge here in SE Michigan, would be among the dear departed. They're fascists. They're the most despicable of the despicable.

[ColbertWatcher]

41. Why not keep your friend around as a reminder? n/t

[TahitiNut]

43. I fear he's been too corrupted. It ain't like frat days when we got drunk and played poker.

As I recall, his family came from the same part of Italy as Mussolini. Sad. He's on the District Court of Appeals, a Republican, a conservative, and a Federalist Society member. Yuchh! He was likable in college. No longer.

[ColbertWatcher]

46. Well, now that is sad. So long guy. n/t

[QueenOfCalifornia]

34. I have posted

several OPs about the Federalist Society. They are DANGEROUS NEOCON ASSHOLES.

Thanks for posting this...

Did you know that Bush made sure that the DoJ is filled with these people? That he has appointed as many of them as he could? It is disturbing.

I will rec this right now.

[ColbertWatcher]

37. Thank you, little buddy! n/t

[QueenOfCalifornia]

40. You are welcome

It is important that people see this OP.

They are dangerous and they are in your City Halls and Federal Buildings.

[davefromqueens]

42. It's a right wing fringe group

They basically believe in nullifying the Bill of Rights (except expanding the 2nd Amendment)

They like to ignore the 14th Amendment

and they like to ignore the commerce clause.

Basically, their legal arguments are rooted in the theory that Antonin Scalia is hearing voices in his head about what the Founding Fathers oringally intended and then Scalia's transcribes these voices to the written page.

[ColbertWatcher]

48. I always saw them as a group that wanted to avenge ...

... Grandfather Bush's shameful treatment at the hands of FDR.

[davefromqueens]

66. I debated them at my law school

We set it up, two fed society people, me and another, mostly me.

All about philsophy, about 150 people showed up.

Gave our presentations, took Q and A, the Federalist Society got their ass kicked. It was so bad that the Faculty Advisor of the Federalist Society came up to me and said that you really did a number on his guys. Even a couple of Republicans I knew were shocked.


I took down their talking points one by one.

Judicial activism? My ass. It's recent republican judges on the SC that have overturned more state laws and acts of congress than any other court.

Original intent? Yeah right. Does Scalia part of the psychic network hotline? Does he dial up Dionne Warwick who connects him with the ghost of Thomas Jefferson? Of course I refer people to the text of the Constitution, not what Scalia says the Constitution says. Best example is the 9th amendment which makes it clear that rights are to be construed broadly, not based on some literal judicial activism which nullifies the wording and its intent.

"exact wording" - Reminds me of the Brady Bunch episode when Greg couldn't drive "his" car for 2 weeks. Of course the intent was that Greg was grounded for 2 week but that didn't stop Greg from driving other cars.

[Uncle Joe]

44. Excellent and timely post, ColbertWatcher.

As one poster up thread also questioned, they're so static in their thinking, how on Earth do the Federalists explain the 9th Amendment? There is nothing fixed or static about that article.

Article 9 "The enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

What other rights could article 9 be speaking of, without spelling them out, they're infinite?

I believe logic and common sense should tell you, those rights are dynamic, not static, with the people getting the benefit of the doubt and the state having the burden of proof. Personally, I believe this is one reason as to why the so called "War Against Drugs" is unconstitutional. Combined with the more archaic 3rd Amendment, they imply a right to privacy and thanks to the Big Brother loving Federalist Society, there is no right to privacy.

Personally I don't believe they give a rat's ass about the people, freedom or the Constitution, their only concern is obtaining power, and wealth by diminishing the power of the people's government; which the Federalists view as a roadblock to allowing the corrupted, corporate loving, authoritarians among them to dominate the American People as a whole.

[ColbertWatcher]

50. Thank you!

(I've always seen the GOP think tanks and advocacy groups like the Federalist Society as more of a way for them to play philosophical games with people's rights and lives.

It's like what the Chicago School did in South America.)

Do you know much about the 9th Amendment?

I want to get that book about it, but am kinda strapped right now (there are so many I still need to get/read).

I would love to read more about the 9th and how the GOP have tried to ignore it/pretend it doesn't exist.

[Uncle Joe]

60. Here is something to think about, according to the Federalist's rigid, static, dead view of the

Constitution, Bush and for that matter no other President has been Commander in Chief of the United States Air Force since they were formed in to their own seperate branch.

Article II Section 2 Paragraph 1

"The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States when called in to actual service of the United States; he may acquire the opinion, in writing of the principle officer in each of the executive departments of any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States except in cases of impeachment"

For that matter I don't think the new Space Command is mentioned either.

[ColbertWatcher]

63. Interesting point.

But, you know that this would allow the GOP to insist that someone be in charge.

Their solution would probably give that duty to some CEO.

[bluedawg12]

49. Their buzz words: activist judges, strict interpretation of the Constitution

and they are fundamentalists who claim that if it's not in the Constitution it should not be there at all.

They use this logic on their wedge issues, ex: Roe v. Wade and yet, when it came to altering the Constitution by making an amendment: to protect marriage from equality for gays they had no problem with THAT change.

[ColbertWatcher]

54. Excellent point. They consider the Constitution their toy to play with. n/t

[bluedawg12]

57. Also, "States rights" means punting issues to States if they wouldn't pass muster

on a Federal level as far as passing laws.

[ColbertWatcher]

59. States rights is the biggest cop-out.

It's like when corporations go "jurisdiction shopping" to find the court most favorable to their case.

[readmoreoften]

53. Some boolshit, that's what it is.

[lonestarnot]

55. Time to get busy on throwing them out of those too! Call them at

every meeting and cut them off on every lane change!

[20score]

56. K&R

[Hassin Bin Sober]

58. K&R and bookmarking for tomorrow

[TWiley]

61. Some claim the documents known as the "Federalist Papers" are the legal guide

[ColbertWatcher]

64. As opposed to the Constitution? n/t

[TWiley]

68. .

[TWiley]

69. Yes

Many federalist groups believe the Federalist papers show the intent of the constitution, and should be used as a guide in interpretation. There was a wierdo Federal judge near Alpena Michian who believed this and avocated some boolshit called "Atomic Democracy" from the bench.

Survivalists, gun nuts, militi, neo-confederates, and successionists are only a few whack-jobs who feel these papers are important. Most seem to be holy-roller type christians also. Extremely superstitious and looking for predictive patterns to the end of the world.

[lumpy]

62. Sarah Palin has declared herself a 'Federalist'.

Figures

[ColbertWatcher]

65. Really? You don't happen to have a link do you? n/t

[TWiley]

70. I am not sure if this is what he is talking about or not.

But check out the Alaskan Independance Party (AIP) They fit a loose profile of Survivalist, gun-nut, successionist, militia, holy roller whaco christians who typically populate the Federalist crowd.

[live love laugh]

67. They are entrenched alright, and the rest are entering their spore stage until four years from now.

They won't ever go away--like cockroaches.