There has been much discussion of just how much damage the Republican Administrations have done over the last 30 years. Today, as the Obama Administration tries to prevent further damage to the Gulf of Mexico, comes another example of how the appointment of all those conservative, corporate, activist judges by Republican Presidents hampers our ability to move forward.
Court axes offshore drilling moratorium
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
The Associated Press
Published: July 8th, 2010 03:40 PM
Last Modified: July 8th, 2010 04:10 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal appeals court today rejected the federal government's effort to restore an offshore deepwater drilling moratorium, opening the door to resumed drilling in the Gulf while the legal fight continues.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled soon after an afternoon hearing in a lawsuit filed by companies that oppose the drilling ban. The moratorium was struck down June 22 by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman.
Read more: http://www.adn.com/...
So while the Gulf of Mexico is poisoned by the Gulf Oil Gusher disaster, these conservative judges want to risk even more oil gushing into the Gulf from rigs whose safety standards have not been properly reviewed and are possibly just as unsafe as the one responsible for the gusher. This comes in a 2 to 1 decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, where there 12 judges appointed by Reagan and the Bushes while only 4 judges were appointed by Democratic Presidents.
And the 2 judges in the majority on this decision, Judge Jerry E. Smith and Judge W. Eugene Davis, are - surprise, surprise! - Reagan appointees. The sole dissenting opinion came from Judge James L. Dennis, who was appointed by President Clinton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The district judge who originally struck down the moratorium, Judge Martin Feldman, owned stocks in the companies involved and also was a Reagan appointee:
http://judgepedia.org/...
Despite this, Judge Feldman did not recuse himself and ruled for the oil companies. Judges Smith and Davis also did not recuse themselves, despite also having strong ties to the oil industry:
Among its findings, the report reveals that two of the judges on the appeals panel, Judges Jerry Edwin Smith and William Eugene Davis, frequently represented the oil and gas industries while in private practice. They also attended all-expense-paid "seminars" held at resorts in Big Sky, Montana, and sponsored by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), whose purpose is to oppose government regulation, promote free-market solutions to environmental problems, and to "explain why ecological values are not the only important ones."
http://www.afj.org/...
Reagan-era judges who "represented the oil and gas industries while in private practice" ruling in favor of oil companies? No surprise there.
This legal battle over the offshore drilling moratorium exemplifies just how badly 30 years of mainly Republican rule in the White House has corrupted our judicial system. The right-wingers understand that the courts are the key to their corporate power structure remaining in place, understand that this is a long term battle, and have the Federalist Society working incessantly to advance their agenda.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/...
We need to never lose sight of who we are up against here. These are extremely powerful interests that only have the good of the very few at the top in mind.
This is a battle for the long haul, a battle that we must win for the sake of not only our generations, but also all the generations that follow.
Please remember this in the run-up to, and during the 2010 election.