The Judicial Tyranny Sham

Yesterday's Washington Post ran a front page story about how Christian right political groups like Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice (ALCJ) and Tim LaHaye's Concerned Women for America (CWA) are fretting about losing control of the coveted and conservative Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fourth Circuit represents a fair chunk of Bible Belt territory -- Virginia, Maryland, and North and South Carolina -- and it's been the venue of choice for Kafka-esque quasi-legal proceedings for enemy combatants and other enemies of Truth, Justice and The American Way. The Post piece would have you believe that, notwithstanding Bush's two years remaining in the White House, ALCJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow is actually biting his nails to the quick over this one.

As with most things emanating from Virginia Beach, this is more about posturing than about reality. And in this case, they're posturing for 2008. They think (and of course they might be right) that getting their base jazzed up about crazy judges authorizing beastiality in lieu of school prayers would be the way to make them remember that -- notwithstanding all that war and corruption stuff -- they need to actually go out and vote Republican next time.