Roberts: Scene at State of the Union 'Very Troubling' 美首席大法官：奥巴马将暴民政治带入美政体

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts address students at the University of Alabama Law School in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 9, 2010.

陈凯一语： Kai Chen's Words:

陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

暴民流氓政治是社会主义独裁者们的专用技俩。（毛在中国的文化大革命就是一例。）奥巴马在国情咨文演讲中用民主党议员们的哄叫嘲笑由礼貌自愿出席演讲的美国最高法院的大法官们是他对美国宪法分权原则的蔑视的又一拙劣表演。 奥巴马的反美行径会终将被人们认知并将遭到美国良知民众的有力回击。 --- 陈凯

"Mob rule" has always been used by all the socialist dictators in the world to suppress different views in a given political environment. (China's Cultural Revolution was only one such example.) The very scene of Obama using his State of Union speech to rally his cohorts in American Congress to jeer/mock the Supreme Court Judges present demonstrated once again his contempt for American Constitution. Obama's anti-Americanism will be ultimately recognized as such and defeated by the freedom-loving people in America. I have no doubt about that. --- Kai Chen

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Roberts: Scene at State of the Union 'Very Troubling' 美首席大法官：奥巴马将暴民政治带入美政体

Jay Reeves AP

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (March 9)

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally."

Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question about the Senate's method of confirming justices, Roberts said senators improperly try to make political points by asking questions they know nominees can't answer because of judicial ethics rules.

"I think the process is broken down," he said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday. He criticized the annual State of the Union address as a "political pep rally" and faulted the confirmation process for nominees to his court.

Obama chided the court for its campaign finance decision during the January address, with six of the court's nine justices seated before him in their black robes.

Roberts said he wonders whether justices should attend the address.

"To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there," said Roberts, a Republican nominee who joined the court in 2005.

Roberts said anyone is free to criticize the court and that some have an obligation to do so because of their positions.

"So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court - according the requirements of protocol - has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."

Breaking from tradition, Obama used the speech to criticize the court's decision that allows corporations and unions to freely spend money to run political ads for or against specific candidates.

"With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said.

Justice Samuel Alito was the only justice to respond at the time, shaking his head and appearing to mouth the words "not true" as Obama continued.

In response to Roberts' remarks Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs focused on the court's decision and not the chief justice's point about the time and place for criticism of the court.

"What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections - drowning out the voices of average Americans," Gibbs said. "The president has long been committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests and their lobbyists over government. That is why he spoke out to condemn the decision and is working with Congress on a legislative response."

Justice Antonin Scalia once said he no longer goes to the annual speech because the justices "sit there like bumps on a log" in an otherwise highly partisan atmosphere.

Roberts opened his appearance in Alabama with a 30-minute lecture on the history of the Supreme Court and became animated as he answered students' questions. He joked about a recent rumor that he was stepping down from the court and said he didn't know he wanted to be a lawyer until he was in law school.

While Associate Justice Clarence Thomas told students at Alabama last fall he saw little value in oral arguments before the court, Roberts disagreed.

"Maybe it's because I participated in it a lot as a lawyer," Roberts said. "I'd hate to think it didn't matter."

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