Justice Scalia, the Moderate

By John Ballard

In a world of slippery slopes,  some good news is better than none.

Yesterday, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to a gathering of mostly-Republican lawmakers about separation of powers under the Constitution. During that gathering, Scalia was asked to embrace one of the Tea Party�s pet constitutional theories � but his response did not go well for the far right:

�The question of earmarks came up, whether or not the constitutionality of earmarks would be considered constitutional [sic],� Bachmann told reporters after the seminar. [...]

 �It�s up to Congress how you want to appropriate, basically,� Scalia told the members, according to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). �He pointed out historically, like when Jefferson was president, [Congress] said here�s a big pot of money, you decide where it goes, and Jefferson ended up paying up a big hunk of it to the Barbary Pirates.�

�I think the fairest thing to say was he took it for granted they were constitutional,� said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) � one of a small handful of Democrats in attendance. �I don�t think there was any question. I can�t see how you can make an argument that they�re not Constitutional � Congress is the appropriating body.�

Although Scalia was asked about earmarks, his answer is nothing less than a wholesale repudiation of the right�s tenther vision of the Constitution....

[...]...it is a sad commentary on the state of the modern GOP that ultra-conservative Justice Scalia has transformed into a voice of moderation against the even more radical Tea Party.

The tenther view is this...

Tentherism, in a nutshell, proclaims that New Deal-era reformers led an unlawful coup against the "True Constitution," exploiting Depression-born desperation to expand the federal government's powers beyond recognition. Under the tenther constitution, Barack Obama's health-care reform is forbidden, as is Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The federal minimum wage is a crime against state sovereignty; the federal ban on workplace discrimination and whites-only lunch counters is an unlawful encroachment on local businesses.

Tenthers divine all this from the brief language of the 10th Amendment, which provides that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In layman's terms, this simply means that the Constitution contains an itemized list of federal powers -- such as the power to regulate interstate commerce or establish post offices or make war on foreign nations -- and anything not contained in that list is beyond Congress' authority.

Details at the links.

Climate zombies, birthers, tenthers -- and now Justice Scalia looks moderate?!! 
It makes me want to join a Mennonite community and forget politics altogether.