I happened across the following screed from a Democratic Senator, delivered during the second half of President Trump’s administration. If there exists a textbook for propaganda (perhaps the Associated Press style guide would qualify), then this is a textbook example of describing an opponent’s perfectly ordinary and legal behavior as if it were something sinister. But there were some other nuggets in it, as well.
https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/the-third-federalist-societyMy favorite bit is this one:
Renown [sic] court watcher Jeffrey Toobin describes Leo as “Trump’s subcontractor” on the selection of Supreme Court justices.
Well, he’s “renown” for something else these days.
Then there’s this piece of hard-core, investigative reporting:
The Federalist Society does more than pick the judges. They prepare them. They study the prospective nominees, and the senators who will ask them questions. They gather murder boards for nominees to practice for confirmation hearings.
Mr. Leo is proud [proud, mark you!] of this operation. During the confirmation hearing for Justice Neil Gorsuch, Leo told Toobin with considerable satisfaction, I’ll quote him here,
“You know, the hearings matter so much less than they once did. We have the tools now to do all the research. We know everything they’ve written. We know what they’ve said. There are no surprises.”
(brackets mine)
Just when I think I can no longer be shocked by the
Jews’ far right’s relentless skullduggery…
A little further down, Whitehouse complains about the “shadowy” and “secretive” funding of the Federalist Society – and then proceeds to name some of their donors. To be fair, he does talk about some large donations he says he’s unable to trace, but even when he can name them, he describes them as “peculiar groups that aren’t involved in any ordinary business or regular activity.” It’s almost as if the Senator’s staff couldn’t come up with any spooky descriptions here, and didn’t know what to say. All they could come up with was to claim political advocacy is not “ordinary business or regular activity,” as if a U.S. Senator doesn’t know that lobbying is a well-known and long-standing industry in the United States.
Then we have things that are “so-called,” though with no explanation for why we should doubt they are what they are said to be. “Rao also founded the so-called Center for the Study of the Administrative State,” we’re told, which he then describes as finding ways to cut regulation. So it is roughly as described, but he says, “so-called.” Amicus briefs from the Federalist Society are likewise “so-called amicus briefs.” If they actually turned out to be film treatments, or ads for fabric softener, he neglects to so inform us.
Then finally, toward the end, he gets around to a specific charge of wrongdoing. One of the villains of the piece, he claims, lied about whether her organization was funded by the infamous Koch Brothers. Why anyone would lie about receiving funding from people who fund the sort of things one does is not explained. Then again, since people like Toobin have convinced millions of voters that the Koch brothers want to garrote their grandmothers, and eat their children, I guess he doesn’t have to.
And now, Whitehouse tells us why he’s so grumpy. It’s all about the Kisor case. Or Chevron deference, if you know the issue by that handle. We are, apparently, to be horrified that executive branch departments could somehow be checked by the judiciary. Imagine, unelected functionaries under the ostensible control of President Donald Trump having to answer to unelected magistrates of the high court! The stuff of nightmares!
Well, anyway, I found the whole thing entertaining. If you’ve read this whole thing – I’m sorry. I hope you can now find something more rewarding to do with your time.
