Lautenberg Slams Cornyn and DeLay In Senate Speech

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) ripped Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) today in the Senate responding to his remarks that seemed to justify acts of violence recently against judges. Said Lautenberg: Mr. President, I rise today to respond to some recent remarks by a member of this body, and the Majority Leader of the House, about the judges who preside in our federal courts. Article III, Section One of the United States Constitution says: The Judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. That seems pretty clear to me. Judicial power is vested in our courts – not in Congress. Once a judge is seated on the bench, his or her decisions are not subject to our approval. He went on to say: Mr. President, in this chamber yesterday, one of our colleagues said Americans are becoming “frustrated” by the rulings of judges and accused them of making “raw political or ideological decisions." Our colleague then went on to say: “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.” These remarks are almost unbelievable. Yet they echo the words last week of the House Majority Leader. Speaking of the judges in the Schiavo case, the House Majority Leader said, “The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior." These are inflammatory words. They ignore the fact that our Founding Fathers wanted judges to be insulated from political pressure. And they are words that could easily incite violence against judges. The message Cornyn seems to be conveying to the American people is irresponsible and as his hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, wrote: “It is time for him to stop sputtering ill-tempered threats, not only at the judiciary but also at the U.S. Constitution, which he repeatedly has sworn to uphold.” The complete text of Sen. Lautenburg's speech can be read at RawStory.com