BREAKING: GOP Sen John Cornyn (TX) violence against judges understandable

[xultar]

BREAKING: GOP Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) says violence against judges is understandable
by John in DC - 4/4/2005 06:29:00 PM

Senator John Cornyn should resign immediately.

Just about one hour ago on the Senate floor, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) gave an astounding account of the recent spate of violence against judges, suggesting that the crimes could be attributed to the fact that judges are "unaccountable" to the public. Sources on the Hill went and pulled the transcript of what Cornyn said, and it read:

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence."

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/04/breaking-gop-senator-john-cornyn-r-tx.html

This is dangerous people!

[Blue Gardener]

1. So he's condoning violence against judges?

This is absolutely appalling.

[xultar]

17. Can you believe it? I'm dumbfounded! n/t

[Don_1967]

130. oh yes

nothing these assholes say or do suprise me anymore!

[flpoljunkie]

68. Shame on him! Cornyn served seven years as a Texas Supreme Court Judge!

From Cronyn's Senate website:

As Texas Attorney General from 1999-2002, John Cornyn directed many initiatives vital to the interests of Texas families. Cornyn served for six years as a District Court Judge in San Antonio before being elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990, where he served for seven years.

http://cornyn.senate.gov/leftmenu_1/biography.cfm

[xultar]

85. So, he's saying you can use violence against judges who don't submit

to the theology of hate, separation, and division.
The US version of Christianity which is intolerant and unchristian.
ahhhh I get it. :grr:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

124. This wasn't an "observation," it was a threat...

He should be arrested, and I'm completely serious. He knows damned well that large portions of his emotionally-unstable base will take this as a green light to kill judges. He's all but giving them permission. It's inciting people to violence and he knows that damned well.

[Roland99]

137. I think his portion of the website is having problems.

Got an error when I submitted the following (I went Back and clicked Submit again and then it worked)

Why do you hate America?

Hate speech such as your vitriolic rhetoric leveled against our grand judiciary is as unAmerican as it gets.

Do you even realize that many of the judges against whom you are leveling such charges were appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush, Sr.? Probably not. That would require you actually engage in thought before running off your smart mouth.

Come back down from Ideology Hill and face reality.

Reality is Americans don't want big government interfering in their lives. Protect us from corporate raping of the environment and keep us safe from invaders. That's all you have to do.

[tinrobot]

94. So the murder of Judge Lefkow's family was "understandable?"

Isn't that like saying terrorism is "understandable?"

This man needs to go read the constitution.

Then he needs to resign in disgrace.

[bloom]

107. He might as well be talking about violence against himself, etc.

Talk about "unaccountable".

[NYC]

2. See this thread. (Hidalgo County Judge Found Dead)

I wasn't able to view the article.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x12561

[Proud2BAmurkin]

3. Un. Fucking. Believable.

.

[Bluebear]

4. Co-opting the UNRELATED Atlanta tragedy for politics? OUTRAGE!!

RESIGN immediately Cornyn! You, too, are "accountable" for your words.

[blogslut]

5. Finally a Reason

To write to that sorry excuse of a public servant. One to his girlfriend Kay Bailey as well.

The nerve.

[The Doctor.]

82. Really?... what documentation is there?

We know many, many people have mistresses (as well as misters), but this is the first I've heard of this.

Is there a way to nail him up?

(the way I see it - if we make enough martyrs out of the 'adultery stigma', we can decriminalize it. At least that's what I think 'we' Republicans would like in our soul of souls...)

[Dave Reynolds]

6. The right's new plan,

if you can't vilify them, kill them.

How nice.

[xultar]

18. Conform to the Culture of Life or DIE! Mutherfucker DIE! n/t

[Dave Reynolds]

29. Eggzackly.

(Freeperspell mode OFF).

[Zerex71]

7. Ask Cornyn to rethink his words when the word "judges"

is replaced with "Senators". Then see how he feels.

It's almost too easy, this finding of hypocrisy in the right wingers. It's sport. Like taking candy from a baby.

[Sydnie]

19. I agree

And I think that is just the message that they need to hear. Replace the word judge with any other word -- teacher, priest, parent, neighbor, or even Senator and see if his argument holds water!

I guess they can now sign things "Let Anarchy Ring" and mean it!

[suziedemocrat]

62. Perfectly Stated!! n/t

[Just Me]

8. Alrighty then. This shit must cease.

No representative should be making that kind of implication!!!

shit

[muchacho]

9. what a moron

[acmejack]

10. Nothing that creep says surprises me!

To add insult to injury, the jerk is one of my "dynamic duo". He won't even acknowledge a letter, it hasn't deterred me form my angry writing in the least (They told me to get a hobby, writing my elected officials was an obvious choice). Exactly how long do you suppose it will be before some jerk takes it to be open season on jurists? I have had the depressing realization the majority of the weapons are held by the rw...

[xultar]

32. BWTF....this has got to make people look @ his ass and wonder

if they want him to be their voice on a national stage.

I bet ya' $50 bucks he'll come out and say, they twisted my words and it's the Liberal MSM fault and everything will be o.k.

[H2O Man]

11. He is beneath contempt.

And you are absolutely right that he is dangerous .... he is trying to incite violence in the same manner that Randall Terry does.

[xultar]

25. Can you believe it? Either this guy is wholesale STOOPID or straight

up evil! Whatever the case this shit is straight up crazy!

[H2O Man]

35. It makes me sad.

I think that it is fair to say that he is taking part in an organized effort to disrupt the function of the judiciary. I guess that the fact that this anus says such a stupid and vicious thing on the anniversary of Rev. King being killed is bothering me. Today of all days we should all recognize that it is wrong for the government to threaten to silence those it dislikes, fears, or hates.

[David__77]

12. They want to establish Nazi "people's courts"

Indeed, the German judiciary, cowed thought it was, was the only--thin and ineffectual--impediment to total Nazi legal domination during 1933-1945. The Nazis railed against those judges too, and later in the war established the party-run "people's courts" to mete out fascist "justice" to any who dared to resist.

A terrible fate awaits those who follow Hitler's beaten path.

[Warren DeMontague]

27. With judge Adolph Wopner.

Not to be flip. Really, anyone who thinks this widespread GOP assault on the judiciary isn't part of an orchestrated effort at toppling the separation of powers needs a wake-up call, BAD.

[babylonsister]

13. Could he be siding w/fellow Texan DeLay's now infamous

quote that Lautenberg chastised DeLay for? But why put his own self in the firing line? Perhaps he's trying to justify DeLay's actions.

[rocktivity]

77. I don't think so, Babylonsister

Because Cheney has chastised DeLay, too:

On another issue, Cheney said he backed efforts to help save Terri Schiavo's life, but strongly disagreed with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who wants retribution against judges who blocked restoration of her feeding tube.

"I don't think that's appropriate...There's a reason why judges get lifetime appointments," he said.

You know Cheney--if he can't say anything nice, he doesn't say anything. I think he's just given DeLay the kiss of death.

:headbang:
rocknation

[K-W]

14. Translation: "I think the people terrorizing judges are on to something"

Beautiful

I love how his only qualification of attacking judges is that it is nothing new. Not that, you know, it is terrorism.

[in_cog_ni_to]

15. Did he bother to say that "engaging in violence" against a judge is WRONG?

Did he urge people to refrain from murdering judges? Of course he didn't. He's telling them to go out and murder if they can't handle the judges rulings.

[yankeedem]

16. Breaking news where?

Guaranteed it will never be reported in the "liberal media"- it will slip down the memory hole, even as other judges get threatened and killed.

[xultar]

88. You got that right! n/t

[mattclearing]

20. Sounds like a liberal argument: Civil Disobedience.

On edit: There's nothing civil about violence, but that seems to be what he's trying to say.

It's amazing...big government, and now this?

It's understandable that some would violently attack judges, but God forbid you peacefully protest the warmonger in chief.

Fuck Republicans.

[GOPFighter]

21. They're cutting their own throats with this nonsense

This will piss off judges everywhere, those on the right and left. Talk like this could end up encouraging misanthropes on the right to start shooting judges, like they have abortion doctors. Judges already feel threatened with many already under police protection.

Every week the RW seems to get kookier, and every week more and more Americans begin to see just how stupid and juvenile these RWers are. I honestly believe they are starting to self destruct.

[yankeedem]

26. It could backfire, you're right

Since the fascists have made judges the new gay and the new black, maybe they will empathise with the struggle and throw out some of the more loathsome forms of discrimination against minorities

[rodeodance]

69. If a Dem Senator had said this-it would be headline news around the

clock!!

[Auntie Bush]

78. World!

[sonicx]

22. Imagine if someone said the same about Senators and Reps...

They'd be considered a terrorist threat.

[H2O Man]

37. Exactly! Great point.

He should be arrested. Any of us would be arrested if we tried to incite people to that type of violence.

[yankeedem]

38. You forget, IOKIYAR

It's ok if you're a Republican.

[H2O Man]

47. It's amazing.

But absolutely true.

[mtnester]

23. Kids, I see violence coming fast to this country...

neighbor against neighbor, family against family..

people on both sides of many issues are simmering harder than a pot ready to boil the hide hairs off a pig.

[Dave Reynolds]

30. It really seems that way.

Although I'm normally pessimistic, if this does not blow up into something ugly I will be pleasantly surprised.

[Bluebear]

79. Me too. First time ever.

I never thought our country would come to this.

[reprehensor]

24. bump

[MisterP]

28. coup-coup! coup-coup! coup-coup!

[acmejack]

31. You're correct!

They are implementing the final steps in their dissolution of America as we knew it.

[G_j]

33. will he get away with it?

probably. Will the media windgags discuss this endlessly 'til you want to scream? nope

[kliljedahl]

50. Of course they won't

He timed that statement intentionally, right in the middle of 24/7 Pope-O-Vision. If it's not about the Pope, we won't hear it on MSM.


http://www.kliljedahl.net

[Az_lefty]

34. I guess if it just builds up and builds up then

violence against politicians would be ok in his book too....what an ignorant bastard!

[notadmblnd]

36. One would think that the same logic would apply

to Senators too.

[Skidmore]

39. Jump on this sucker until he has to retract his words....

Statements like this cannot go unanswered.

[candy331]

83. Average citizens making threats don't get to make retractions so

why should he? No one inciting violence is above the law not even Senators. What is in the water in Texas that so many morons come from there? Surely this should not be dropped, the signal sent to the kooks to commit violence should be squelched immediately. Jeb Bush in Florida already showed by sending the State troopers to take Schiavo that they are ready to disavow the law, next time they want pull back.

[morgan2]

40. so basically what he's saying

is because Republicans are promoting the preception that judges are unaccountable tyrants, people are going to engage in violence against them. Fair assesment.

[Toucano]

41. Turtle Fucker!

The word "understandable" doesn't appear in his quote, btw.

Attempting to provide an explanation is not the same as providing a justification or calling it "understandable".

He's still a shit, though!

[ltfranklin]

42. Let's change a few words....

"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of lynching in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of lynching recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where blacks are making progress that is unacceptable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence."

[NYC]

43. I wrote to Sen. Lautenberg in New Jersey.

He wrote a letter to Tom DeLay. I asked that he now write a letter to John Cornyn.

Contact page for Lautenberg:

http://lautenberg.senate.gov/webform.html

Of course, you can also write to your own senators. (I didn't see that my senators had a word to say about DeLay.)

[yankeedem]

46. Wow, I just did the same thing

I am a constituent, also sent a message to Menendez.

Why is it that our Senators don't seem to grow a set of balls until they hit 80? (Byrd, Lautenberg)

[NYC]

48. I'm not a constituent, but I signed it

"your neighbor in NYC". Lautenberg wrote that wonderful letter regarding DeLay. That's why I wrote to him today.

Meanwhile, I'm very concerned about the Hidalgo County, Texas judge who resigned this afternoon, and then was found dead this afternoon. I have been checking Google news, but coming up with nothing. His name was Ed Aparicio.

[yankeedem]

51. Google sucks, Yahoo rules

http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=3165494&nav=0w0vYGh1

Suicide?

[NYC]

60. Thanks for the link.

It really doesn't say suicide, though it doesn't mention murder, either.

There was some investigation still going on, and:

...There has been much speculation in the Rio Grande Valley today that something big was about to happen at the courthouse, including potential FBI action against other judges...

That was a quote from Quorum Report, which I cannot read directly. I find this all very curious, especially after we had 2 Texas Republicans make or imply veiled threats against judges.

[NYC]

76. Lautenberg ignored me.

I'm crushed. :(

I started my letter by saying please read this even though I don't live in the state of New Jersey.

Senators don't bother to think that since there are only 100 of them, what they do affects the whole country. (I suppose that's true regardless of number.)

Lautenberg's response:

Thank you for contacting me. Due to the volume of e-mails, I can only
respond to constituents with New Jersey mailing addresses. If you need
further assistance, please contact the Senator from your home state.

Thank you


I take that to mean that he can only "read" or "pay attention to" emails with N.J. addresses. Obviously, he can and does respond. Alas.

[morffin]

108. I got the same response from Lautenberg

.............

[Radical Activist]

44. This is what happened with Timothy McVeigh.

Reagan and other conservatives badmouthed and demonized government bureaucrats for years. They painted government workers as the unaccountable enemy. One person who believed that message and acted on it was McVeigh, who was inspired by Reagan.

This anti-judicial feeling didn't come from nowhere. It started because Bush and the Republicans have been badmouthing and demonizing "activist" judges just like they did to big government bureaucrats. Sooner or later someone will take their words seriously like McVeigh did.

This is a hateful and violent ideology we are dealing with.

[GarySeven]

55. Almost as hateful and violent as communism

Che and Castro badmouthed and demonized government bureaucrats for years for their corruption, then once they were in power anyone who disagreed with them were ordered "to the walls" and shot.

You should find a better hero.

[Radical Activist]

63. That was off topic

You should find something better to bitch about.

[H2O Man]

80. Old Gary is having

a tough time here tonight. On a GD thread about slavery in the north, he posted that DUers aren't very smart, because "indians" and blacks had slaves. He accused DUers of thinking that everyone in the south was evil and had slaves, although of a dozen posts, his was the only one that that was specifically about the south. And here on a thread about an ignorant republican fuck who is stirring up hatred and making statements that may increase violence towards judges, he's worked up about Che. Huh. Che doesn't have anything to do with violence in the USA, Gary. Let's get back on topic!

[GarySeven]

101. Ever had family members murdered?

Yeah, Che was a hero all right.

[Lilith Velkor]

111. ...by capitalists?

Batista was a Great Man!

:sarcasm:

[H2O Man]

119. Yes.

But not in recent generations by either "indian" slave owners, or by a Latin American doctor. If I had, I might start a thread about that very topic. However, I would not be snapping at people on a thread about an elected representative who seems to be advocating violence against the federal judiciary.

[Bridget Burke]

122. Details, please....

We'd love to hear more about your dear departed.

And, yes, Che was a hero. People remember him.

[GarySeven]

140. If by "hero" you mean "murderer," sure he was.

My grandfather, who fought alongside Castro, was murdered on Che's order. Wasn't "revolutionary" enough. To those who don't think such comments belong in this thread, neither does a poster who uses an icon of Che as a personal symbol. Che, Castro and Communism in general are not representative of liberalism, or of Democratic ideals for that matter.

[snippy]

67. Well put. And you are right. n/t

[Coastie for Truth]

45. Texas Liar (Oooops, Texas Lawyer) Cornyn was smart enough

to say this on the Senate Floor so the former Ambulance Chaser General of Texas couldn't be prosecuted under 18 USC 115. As slippery as AG Gonzales and former Secretary of State Baker. (And, my personal nemesis, Swiftie for Texas Truth founder John O'Neill).

[monobrau]

49. FREE BRIAN NICHOLS

The liberal media have made a villian out of Brian Nichols, who was a great patriot for taking on the court system. Who knew?

[Old and In the Way]

52. Makes you wonder if these people are getting desperate.

That sounds like code to incite more violence against the rule of law. Maybe these criminals don't like judges that won't protect their personal interests?

[Swamp Rat]

53. Sen John Cornyn is a terrorist!!!

He openly advocates for his wacko constituants to kill judges! :grr:

Sen John Cornyn is a terrorist!

Sen John Cornyn is a terrorist!

Sen John Cornyn is a terrorist!

[Zero Division]

54. Say it with me folks: "Republican Sen. John Cornyn, Terrorist Apologist".

If any Democratic representative made a similar comment, that's exactly what the right wing pundits and politicians would be calling them: terrorist apologist.

[suziedemocrat]

56. Amoral + Violent + Churchgoing + Stupid = Republican!!!

It's OK to KILL abortion Doctors - after all they kill unborn babies!

It's OK to KILL Iraqis - after all they brought down the twin towers - or they helped - or they wanted to - or they would have - or they knew people who did - or they look like people who did - or they PRAY like people who did.

It's OK to KILL Judges if you don't agree with them - after all they answer to us in the end.

I'm not well versed in the bible - but will someone PLEASE tell me where Jesus said it's OK to KILL if you have a good reason?

[ananda]

57. impeachem

Shouldn't he be impeached for that?

Oh.. I forgot.. IOKIYAR. Ugghh.


Sue

[Plaid Adder]

58. WHAT? Fuckin' Corndog! He WAS a Supreme Court justice in TX!`

He should darn well fucking KNOW better!!

:argh: :argh: :argh: :argh:

These people!!!

The Plaid Adder

[Catherine Vincent]

59. I wonder how he would like it if a judge would say that he understands

when senators are murdered. I am ashamed of this guy and glad that I didn't vote for this repuke!

[snippy]

61. Republicans have created a dangererous climate for judges and

their families. The demonizing of judges by Bush and other republicans is going to have an effect on some people who are dangerously unbalanced such as Tim McVeigh, Ann Coulter, and Tom DeLay. And republicans are likely to continue with their attempts to incite people to violence against judges. Democrats should introduce some bills in Congress to increase security for judges and their families to protect against the increased risks created by those who are demonizing judges.

Cornyn's despicable comments also illustrate major tactical and strategic differences between the two parties. If a democrat had made this statement, republicans would be all over the airwaves and the editorial pages condemning it for weeks. And they would use it for years as an example of democratic thinking. Democrats will spend a few hours criticizing it and then never mention it again.

[rodeodance]

66. well, lets all media blast this (Sen.TX making these comments)!!

from an obove post:
..Guaranteed it will never be reported in the "liberal media"- it will slip down the memory hole, even as other judges get threatened and killed......

[Jesus Saves]

64. IS THIS GETTING MEDIA ATTENTION!!!!

It should be getting lots of play.

[xultar]

90. No it isn't. I'm pretty effin sure the media is otherwise engaged...while

an elected official is backing open season on judges.

[saigon68]

114. The Media is gearing up for Pope-Aid and

The resurrection of the schiavo body. It will be a concert for the ages. Festival seating.

[adwon]

65. Not that I expect it to do any good

but I did send a message to CNN to get off their asses and report this.

[rodeodance]

70. good you sent cnn a memo--I will also!!

[Catherine Vincent]

71. Let's see if O'Reilly, Hannity, Rush and other right wing blowhards

mention this. And of course, Drudge....I won't hold my breath.

[rodeodance]

72. [email protected] --We can all mail it to msnbc also

[rodeodance]

73. and send here too: [email protected]

[xultar]

86. While the word is otherwise occupied our democracy is bleeding

and no one will notice. :cry:

[cyberpj]

74. this legislation will take care of judges - did you even know it's there?

I didn't.

Introducing The Constitution Restoration Act
Say Hello To Taliban America And Goodbye To Godless Judges, Courts And Law


(snip..)

Just in case you've briefly fallen behind on your rightwing mailing lists, you might have missed the March 3rd filing of Senate bill S. 520 and House version is H.R. 1070, AKA the "Constitution Restoration Act" (CRA).

In the worshipful words of the Conservative Caucus, this historic legislation will "RESTORE OUR CONSTITUTION!", mainly by barring ANY federal court or judge from ever again reviewing "any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an entity of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer or agent of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official or personal capacity), concerning that entity's, officer's, or agent's acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government."

In other words, the bill ensures that God's divine word (and our infallible leaders' interpretation thereof) will hereafter trump all our pathetic democratic notions about freedom, law and rights -- and our courts can't say a thing. This, of course, will take "In God We Trust" to an entirely new level, because soon He (and His personally anointed political elite) will be all the legal recourse we have left.

(cont'd....)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=104&ItemID=7569

[rocktivity]

75. Hey, we should be THANKING this guy!

"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but...I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where REPUBLICANS are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence."

And to think we've been wasting all this time taking the moral high road. So it's open season on people who make political decisions we don't like, eh, Senator? Well, thanks for leveling the playing field!


rocknation

[Bouncy Ball]

81. Here is the quote in more context:

"…it causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions. And no one, including those judges, including the judges on the United States Supreme Court, should be surprised if one of us stands up and objects.

And, Mr. President, I'm going to make clear that I object to some of the decision-making process that is occurring at the United States Supreme Court today and now. I believe that insofar as the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policy-maker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people, it has led to the increasing divisiveness and bitterness of our confirmation fights. That is a very current problem that this body faces today. It has generated a lack of respect for judges generally. I mean, why should people respect a judge for making a policy decision borne out of an ideological conviction any more than they would respect or deny themselves the opportunity to disagree if that decision were made by an elected representative?

Of course the difference is that they can throw the rascal -- the rascal out -- and we are sometimes perceived as the rascal -- if they don't like the decisions that we make. But they can't vote against a judge because judges aren't elected. They serve for a lifetime on the federal bench. And, indeed, I believe this increasing politicalization of the judicial decision-making process at the highest levels of our judiciary have bred a lack of respect for some of the people that wear the robe. And that is a national tragedy.

And finally, I – I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news. And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in -- engage in violence. Certainly without any justification but a concern that I have that I wanted to share.

You know, it's ironic, if you look back, as we all have, being students of history in this body, all of us have been elected to other -- to other bodies and other offices and we're all familiar with the founding documents, the declaration of independence, the constitution itself, we're familiar with the federalist papers that were written in an effort to get the constitution ratified in New York state. Well, Alexander Hamilton, apropos of what I want to talk about here, authored a series of essays in the Federalist Papers that opined that the judicial branch would be what he called the -- quote -- "least dangerous branch of government." The "least dangerous branch." He pointed out that the judiciary lacked the power of the executive branch, the white house, for example, and the federal government and the political passions of the legislature. In other words, the congress. Its sole purpose -- that is, the federal judiciary's sole purpose was to objectively interpret and apply the laws of the land and in..."

He contradicts himself when he says "Certainly without any justification..." I mean, he spent the previous time in the speech talking about how horrible judges are, and then says the violence against judges is without justification? HUH?

He threw that in to cover his ass. He is a terrorist. I am going to email his office (not that they care, or read emails or answer them, he is one of my senators--gag--and they never answer, EVER) and ask Cornyn some questions.

Specifically about how, if someone had been unhappy with his decisions while he was on the Texas Supreme Court, would it have been understandable if they invoked violence against him?

[AlCzervik]

91. I don't know why he "wonders" why the violence happens

when he and his shit talk judges all the time. Does he think that we don't get that? what a fucker he is.

[inchhigh]

84. After Delay's comments...

this is starting to sound more like the pary line than a couple of mis-statements.

[reality based]

87. Typical of a George Wallace Supporter

http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=750

[fishwax]

89. holy cow!

first delay's comments and now this ... i'm starting to detect a party line. Reminds me a lot of the "jack-booted thugs" talk we heard about ten+ years ago before Oklahoma City.

[TankLV]

105. Reminds a lot more of us of a time in 1930's Germany!

And yet, there are some who refuse to see the obvious similarities!

[understandinglife]

92. Another theocratic neoconster piece of trash opens their mouth and...

...the stench is detected in Iceland and the Antarctica in less than 5 seconds.

Indict the jerk and prosecute him.

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us (make it happen)

[mmonk]

93. Sometimes when you feel they can't amaze you anymore

they come up with a way.

[Bluebear]

97. They say it out in the open now.

Shamelessly.

[bookman]

95. Sadly, my senator.

I just sent him an email criticizing the statement. The only good think I can say is I didn't vote for him.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

96. Imagine if a Democrat had made this kind of inflammatory comment.

[xultar]

99. There'd be impeachment hearings going on RIGHT NOW 4 A DEM

You can bet your ass on that.

[journalist3072]

98. Culture of life!! Culture of life!!!

If this is supposed to be the culture of life, please leave me out!

You know, nothing the GOP says or does should suprise me anymore, but it does.

Someone refresh my memory: aren't they supposed to be the party of the God-fearing, culture-of-life loving religious right?

[silverlib]

100. Austin American Statesman

I just called the State/legislative line and left the Internet address for Americablog.com with a brief message.

I don't know that this will help.

[alfredo]

102. It was a threat.

The GOP is creating the climate of violence toward judges, and Cornyn was letting the judges know things are going to get worse if they don't toe the line.

[oasis]

103. The right suceeded with their drumbeat of "liberal media". They seek

to do the same with the judiciary. Joe sixpack is so gullible that it only takes a few months of Rush and Sean Hannity's drivel to accomplish their propaganda mission.

[bling bling]

104. Holy shit!

What country is this? So now it's understandable to just kill people we don't agree with politically?

If I were a judge in this country I'd seriously arm myself at this point.

[DirtyDawg]

106. Interesting how he put it...

...namely, that it would understandable if domestic terrorists were to 'engage in violence' if they felt someone wasn't being held accountable enough to suit them...this same bastard, no doubt, was, just a few weeks back, calling Ward Churchill all sorts of names - most likely traitor - for making, in essence, the same point.

Also, reminds me of the atmosphere of hate directed toward the government by the likes of Rush Limbaugh about the time Timothy McVeigh was planning his Oklahoma City 'violence'.

[Endangered Specie]

109. did he say this with a swastika in the background?

[nolabels]

110. So when judges finally get the clue will it be too late?

Get a few brave judges issuing bench warrants and the whole US government will be stuck in grid lock :popcorn:

[Technowitch]

112. This is disgusting, and totally un-American

I agree -- Cornyn needs to resign. Now. He is unfit for office.

[applegrove]

113. Great - now they are coercing the judges. n/t

[brettdale]

115. yeppers

How about violence against politicans?

[Bluebear]

116. morning shift kick

[annabanana]

117. Cornyn is an ANARCHIST!....He clearly has no respect for

Law and Order. He is advocating blood in the streets!

[Don_1967]

128. Cornyn is to blame!!

This asshole is encouraging violence if & when the next judge is attacked this guy is to blame!!This is nothing but HATE SPEECH!!

[reprehensor]

118. 10 Other Reasons Not to Like John Cornyn.

10 Other Reasons Not to Like John Cornyn.

If you're as outraged as many folks are about Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who made a statement on the Senate floor today that seemed to condone violence against judges, you may be wondering -- who the heck is this guy, and does he really believe this...stuff.

The short story is that the silver-haired, politician-from-central-casting Cornyn is a former Texas judge himself, who became the state's first-ever Republican attorney general in 1998 and parlayed that into winning the U.S. Senate seat vacated in 2002 by Phil Gramm. He's already a key player on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But the devil is in the details. So here are 10 things that you need to know about John Cornyn.

1. The son of a U.S. Air Force officer, Cornyn attended the American School in Tokyo when his dad was stationed nearby, and in 1968 he was the loudest student voice in favor of racial demogogue George Wallace. He wrote in the student paper urging support for the man who'd stood in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama just five years earlier.

The young Cornyn's views, salvaged by classmate -- and future writer for The Nation -- Tim Shorrock:

"With the Supreme Court’s recent rulings and increased federal legislation, the government has become increasingly dictatorial and oppressive while the state and local governments have become more weak," he wrote. Here he is on law and order: "Mr. Wallace is convinced that no innocent man should be punished… many criminals never receive the punishment due them because they have clever lawyers, or the case takes so long to go through the slow court schedules and lengthy appeals cases." On the urban crisis: "The existence of poverty has been fact since the beginning of mankind. Statistics show us that it is not the poor element that riots and rebels, but others who hold complete disrespect for property and the rights of others (socialists?)" And, finally, on Vietnam: "It only seems reasonable that a cure (victory) for this Asian illness is most desirable even if the measures necessary are drastic."

2. Thirty-four years later, when Cornyn successfully ran for the Senate, two of his poll watchers were accused of voter intimidation in Hidalgo County, Texas, the heavily Hispanic area near the border. According to a Nov. 2, 2002, Associated Press story:

In McAllen, a voter reported Hopkins to an early voting supervisor for making a "racist remark." Hopkins is said to have joked, "I'm just a poll watcher but I don't see many Poles. I just see a lot of Mexicans."

In Edinburg, Mason was accused of "repeatedly talking to and harassing" voters, including an elderly woman who said she was "confronted." An early voting supervisor warned Mason and later removed her. When Mason came back to the polling place Friday, Navarro asked her to leave.

3. The use of the death penalty in Texas has been condemned by human rights groups around the world, but that's not how Cornyn sees it. This is what he told Bob Herbert in 2000:

The attorney general of Texas, John Cornyn, has said that Texas provides "super due process" to defendants in death penalty cases, and that the Texas way of administering capital punishment is "a model for the nation."

4. When Cornyn was Texas attorney general, his largest energy donor was the now-disgraced Enron Corp., whose PAC and executives forked over a whopping $193,000, according to a 2002 report by Texans for Public Justice. Some 60 percent of the funds came from CEO Kenneth Lay, now indicted for financial shenanigans related to Enron's fall. As AG, Cornyn would have represented the state in bankruptcy proceeding or other lawsuits.

more@link

[Bridget Burke]

123. And--about his election to Senator in 2002....

His Democratic opponent, Ron Kirk, is a moderate African-American who had been a popular mayor of Dallas. Even a non-nut-case Republican I knew planned on voting for him.

But 2002 was the year electronic voting was introduced to Texas. Here in Harris County (fairly liberal Houston) & up in Austin.

[Ganja Ninja]

120. Gee when you put it like that the Oklahoma City bombing seems

perfectly reasonable.:wow: :scared: :scared: :hide: :banghead:

[Don_1967]

131. bombing

yeah i am sure that would befine with these guys they want to spread fear what a better than to have rednecks to kill our Judges

[Guaranteed]

121. Resign. nt

[wicket]

125. sickening

[Roland99]

126. Just abolish the judiciary completely. Why do we need it?

It's obvious the GOP is righteous and was selected by the alien race that seeded this planet with life thousands of years ago and has the only valid solution to any problem. Three (branches) is a crowd anyway.

[Don_1967]

127. media watch

Has the network or any major newspapers reported this?

[The White Tree]

129. Well I don't know John lets take a look at it

During the Clinton years, people like you complained about how big government wanted to take over peoples lives.

Some people heard this, believed it and committed acts of terrorism against their own government.

Now that Republicans run the government, we don't hear the same kind of criticism of the government.

Now we here it about the judiciary, how they are out of control, activist and trying to run the country.

So now we see violence against the judiciary.

Seems to me that the asinine grandstanding of people like you in the Republican party created the cause and that the effects are pretty much what you were hoping for: very real intimidation of anyone who disagrees with you and is in a position to do something about it.

So congratulations to you and your "Culture of Death". It seems to be working out quite well.

Peace.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

132. My letter to Arlen Specter

Dear Senator Specter:

Yesterday on the floor of the Senate, Senator John Cornyn made remarks concerning recent acts of violence against judges. Though he did not specify which attacks he was referring to, he offered what could be misconstrued as justification for these attacks. Perhaps not by men of conscience, but by men who know only violence as a solution to their particular grievances with the government.

Here are the Senator's words as seen on C-SPAN yesterday afternoon:

"And finally, I – I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news. And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in -- engage in violence. Certainly without any justification but a concern that I have that I wanted to share."


Whatever shortcomings our judicial system has, there can be no justification for any violent assault on the judges, clerks, their families, or any other persons associated with it. Expressions of anything approaching sympathy or understanding for those who would perpetrate such acts sends a very dangerous signal to the lawless among us. I urge you to address this matter with Senator Cornyn and others.

Thank you for your time.

[BreweryYardRat]

133. Let's see...

From what I understand of our legal system (HS student in pathetic Florida educational system), judges are not and should not be accountable to the people.

Judges are accountable to the law. If they do something illegal, are tried and found guilty, and the offense is sufficient to warrant it, they can be disbarred and thus removed from their position. That's it.

And from what I've heard of Mr. Cornyn's background here, he should know this.

There is a very real danger that some fools are going to take this as carte blanche to go after judges. If we can find a legal loophole to hold Cornyn liable for any violence (maybe if he makes a similar statement outside of the Senate), we should take it.

I'm too tired to muster the energy needed for anger, but I'm a long way from thrilled with this.

[amb123]

134. Onward, Christian Soldiers! Kill them Judges!

I predict that by the end of this year, either a Federal Court Building or a local Democratic Party HQ will be blown up be a Christian Fascist fanatic claiming that God, Rush Limbaugh, Rep. Tom DeLay and Sen. John Cornyn told him too!

:scared:

[Mr_Spock]

135. ALERT! RW Nazi's advocate violence against establishment!

What is going on with these insane freaks?? This is the single biggest threat to the nation that exists today - this guy MUST be thrown in jail for treason!! Why are Republicans advocating the violent overthrow of our judicial system - and thusly our "nation of laws"? This is crazy. I'm buying a gun.

[Mr_Scarecrow]

136. Hot buttons

He never says it's understandable, but he betrays himself and leaks his opinion here: "making political decisions yet are unaccountable." Very sneaky. He puts this in the hypothetical thoughts of someone else so he can plausibly deny that it's his opinion. However, the flashpoints are the words "political" and "unaccountable".
Political, in this context, means the outcome of the decision is not pleasing to the right-wing. Otherwise, why would he use the redundant phrase "political decisions" as he must well know that every decision ever made by any judge has an outcome that is undesirable to a certain political segment.
Unaccountable means that a judge makes a decision based not on opinion polls but on the evidence presented, a cornerstone of our court system and certainly what separates us from tyrannies.

[jsw_81]

138. Unfuckinbelievable

Jesus.

[ewulf]

139. And so the Republic falls...

A once great, free nation lapses into weakness and slavery, how sad.



These people can't get away with saying this kind of crap can they? I mean honestly! Were not that far gone yet are we?

Have hope and keep fighting. Come the revolution if it must, but one hopes to God its not to late.