Justice Rehnquist Checks Out

The paper this past Sunday was dated September 4, 2005 – my 44th birthday.

The headline stated “Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies.”

I couldn’t have asked for a better gift.

Not that things are going to improve much as George W. Bush will surely do everything in his power to load the court even further to the right. But that’s another worry for another day. For the time being, I say good riddance to William Rehnquist, the guy who presided over and championed an impeachment trial that wasted a ton of time and money, not to mention was conducted against the wishes of a considerable majority of Americans.

Good riddance, indeed, to the guy who essentially gave us President George W. Bush when he led the way in stopping the Florida vote count.

Good riddance to the guy who proclaimed states rights over federal power, but only when the cause fit his own ultra-right ideology. In 2003, Rehnquist was dismayed when the majority both preserved affirmative action in college admissions and killed laws criminalizing gay sex. However, in 2004, he had no objections to the federal government detaining terrorism suspects indefinitely while denying them access to courts. Then he turned around and voted against laws created to protect female victims of violent crime and to keep guns out of schools. The guy just couldn’t make up his mind.

On the subject of religion, despite the separation of church and state as decreed by the U.S. Constitution, Rehnquist frequently found a place for God in government, as in 2002 when he wrote the 5-4 decision which permitted parents to use public tax money to send their children to religious schools.

But it was on the topic of race when his concept of white supremacy was truly exemplified. In 1952, Rehnquist composed legal documents that seemed to reflect his resistance to Broad v. Board of Education. And lest one think that the good justice became enlightened along the way, as recent as 1999, Rehnquist directed a gaggle of lawyers and judges in the singing of “Dixie” at a public setting.

Until his death, Rehnquist never did get around to disavowing these despicable acts of racism. And for that alone, we’re better off having him off the Supreme Court – by whatever means necessary.