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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (72072)	6/13/2008 7:43:52 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542946

Do you believe public policy should be set by legislation or litigation? That is the kind of either/or black/white question that conservatives love to lob, pretending to have the "high ground." Unfortunately, it is a simplistic question that pretends that public policy is set once and for all by one body. In fact, law passed, signed and enacted by the legislative and executive branches. The executive agencies' heads and experts testify publicly and negotiate and advise privately with the legislators who write and vote on these laws. Then they get interpreted once again when the go to the agencies to be executed (or, as often enough happens, are simply left to dangle in the air). Then they get interpreted by people on the ground, who may bring lawsuits with the intention of testing the law or the interpretation of the law by the agency. Then they get interpreted by the court, who says what the law "really" means or if the law is constitutional. And guess what, when the law gets interpreted, public policy gets affected in one way or another. Your "simple" question, Bob, is a a nonsensical talking point. The only reason it gets asked so often is that the conservatives who originated it didn't like the Warren court at all or the Burger court very much. They just want the Robert's court to be "activist" in a different way. Which of course they won't call "activism," they will pretend that it returns the country to the intent of the founding fathers, lol. I've got news for you, Bob--I bet I know more about the "intent of the founding fathers" than the great majority of the people who spout those words. As if there was one "intent," lol.

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (72072)	6/14/2008 3:54:36 PM
From: Cogito	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542946

>>Do you believe public policy should be set by legislation or litigation?<< Bob - That's a false dichotomy with respect to our system of government. Checks and balances were put in place by the Founders, so that if legislated public policy conflicted with the principles embodied in the Constitution, the policy could be changed by the courts. It's a good system. Some people seem to want to throw it out every time a specific call goes against them. But it's worked pretty well, so far, and I think we should keep it. - Allen