House Speaker John Boehner spent
$3 million of taxpayer money to hire Paul Clement for the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
Turns out, that was a pretty good investment for our side. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, tells us that once the Justice Department dropped the defense of DOMA, the Court needed someone to step up so they had standing to actually decide the case.
In the case now before the Court the attorneys for BLAG present a substantial argument for the constitutionality of §3 of DOMA. BLAG’s sharp adversarial presentation of the issues satisfies the prudential concerns that otherwise might counsel against hearing an appeal from a decision with which the principal parties agree. Were this Court to hold that prudential rules require it to dismiss the case, and, in consequence, that the Court of Appeals erred in failing to dismiss it as well, extensive litigation would ensue.
If not for Boehner's intervention, and the $3 million of taxpayer money he decided to pour into this case, the Court might not have even been able to rule on it. So, thanks, John Boehner!
7:59 AM PT: The orange man is remaining mum.
.@SpeakerBoehner on #DOMA: "I heard the decision, I have not had a chance to read it." Won't comment until then.
— @mikememoli
8:36 AM PT: He speaks. Or anyway issues a statement.
“Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis and President Clinton signed it into law. The House intervened in this case because the constitutionality of a law should be judged by the Court, not by the president unilaterally. While I am obviously disappointed in the ruling, it is always critical that we protect our system of checks and balances. A robust national debate over marriage will continue in the public square, and it is my hope that states will define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.”
Please join us and call on Congress to finish the job that the Supreme Court started today. Sign the petition to pass The Respect For Marriage Act and support full marriage equality.