Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Care Bear-in-Chief made an ill-advised move to put the hammer – or more like a feather – down on SCOTUS. The hyperbole begins. Charges of  “playing politics” fly from the mouths of some of the most partisan politicos the world has ever seen. It’s just another shite-storm in Rancorstan.

Karl Rove decided the O-Man is, “some kind of political thug”. A thug that comes into the health care fight wearing a lace glove and with two hands tied behind his back and a shiv already sticking out between his ribs. Of course, Karl would know about such things since he is the embodiment of  bad faith and shakily ethical politiking.

Karl thinks Obama, by virtue of being President, gives up his First Amendment right to say anything he wants about the Court or even Rowe. Talk about your political “activism”. In fact, you can make a case that Obama is right on many counts. However, to suggest he will wreck the Constitution and bring about the end of the Republic while somehow intimidating the court is piffle.

Hot Air from the BalloonThe court is an independent branch of government and under no obligation to make a decision based on political opinion. The idea they can be intimidated as Karl suggests is absurd at best and disingenuous at worst. Karl’s idea of Obama’s move is about as empty a threat anyone can muster. Rove’s translation of Obama’s statement, “You better uphold my law or there’s going to be political damage created and I’ll help do some of the creating,” is just hot air out of the balloon – Karl Rove autographed edition.

Now giving Karl some credit, he isn’t the only one flinging Molicrapitov bombs. Appeals court judge Jerry Smith took the “unpresidented” step of ordering the administration to produce a 3-page letter – not 2-page or 4-page and single spaced, not double spaced letter- from the administration to explain themselves. Apparently Smith believes his court’s responsibility is to act as third grade teacher. Check that. Act as a third grader.

BTW your honor, I’d be happy to produce a letter – punctuated and formatted any way you like – to defend my assertion you are a whining crapweasel. Far be it from me to bully your honor or SCOTUS, given the immense political power I have over you and the Supremes.

SCOTUS is, like it or not, a political animal. The President recommends the justices  and the Senate approves them. I don’t think anyone could reasonably argue that a Congress and President viciously divided against themselves aren’t “playing politics” whenever possible. And thinking Karl isn’t the worst of the worst – or best of the best  depending on your point of view – is fantasy enough to have you committed to the closest asylum post-haste. After all, politicos are live in highly partisan institutions. Playing politics is what they do. In fact, it is what they are supposed to do.

The Business of the People Luckily, the court has been reasonably responsible for most of the nation’s history. Sometimes they make decisions I may not agree with and certainly decisions none of the professional politicians agree with, but that is what it is designed to do.

Would I have done as Obama did? No. Would I have criticised the Supremes during the State of the Union address? No.

In hindsight, even Obama agrees. He’s walking the statement back and that walkabout probably hurts him more than the original statement anyway. I’m sure it doesn’t change his mind unless he’s got some Romney DNA that makes him a compulsive pander bear with no mind to change.

We already have enough to distract us from the business of the people – unless the business happens to be acting stupid.

Fer Chrissakes, give it a break.

Cross posted at The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks!