I Brake for Judges

Thankfully, not all Republicans are following the lead of Texas feral child Tom DeLay in his threats of retribution against the judicial branch of government. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is echoing the sentiments of Dick Cheney in calling for a collective hitting of the brakes in the post-Schiavo let's-bash-the-judiciary witch-hunt.

Geez. How goddamned moronic is it in the first place that Republican leaders are even being put in a position where they have to distance themselves from the irresponsible, over-the-top bluster of Tommy Boy?

As The All Spin Zone notes, a number of Republican lawmakers appear to be backing away from the so-called war on the judicial branch.

And no, this isn't -- and shouldn't -- be a re-tread of where we all stood on the sad case of Terri Schiavo. What's at stake is nothing less than preserving the network of checks and balances that remains among the most brilliant aspects of our system of government.

DeLay and his ilk have spent years and years railing against what they call "activist judges." But as my brother dryly noted the other day -- and he's a smart fella, my brother, despite an Encyclopedia Britannica-sized collection of quirks -- what these folks actually want is "conservative activist judges." After all, every step of the way in the Schiavo legal battle, courts backed the legal claims of Michael Schiavo.

It might not make it right, but it does make it the law.