Obama Pushing a "Radical's Radical" to the Federal Bench

Gun Owners of America ^ | November 12, 2009 | NA

[neverdem]

-- Vote could come as early as Monday

He has been called "extreme" by some. But to others, he's beyond extreme... he's a "Radical's Radical." 

Whatever he is, he could become President Obama's next choice for the federal judiciary.

This radical is Judge David Hamilton, and he's been nominated for a position on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Hamilton has made many political enemies on the right, seeing that his politics are to the far left of the political spectrum.  Oh yes, judges aren't supposed to be political, but this one has engaged in quite a bit of leftist activism.

His biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Based on his analysis of Hamilton, gun owners should be very concerned about a judge who is all to willing to "amend the Constitution." According to Senator Sessions:

Judge Hamilton stated in a 2003 speech that the role of a judge includes writing footnotes to the Constitution: "Judge S. Hugh Dillin of this court has said that part of our job here as judges is to write a series of footnotes to the Constitution. We all do that every year in cases large and small." In explaining this statement to Senator Hatch, Judge Hamilton wrote that he believes the Framers intended judges to amend the Constitution through evolving case law.

Of course, we have seen this pattern time and time again. Judges ignore the clear wording of the Constitution -- in essence, amending the Constitution through each new case they decide.

The courts then become the vehicle for rewriting the Second Amendment!

Not surprisingly, Judge Hamilton's politics are to the extreme, far left. He spent a brief stint as a fundraiser for ACORN, the organization that was an aggressive supporter of Barack Obama in the presidential election. In addition to all the evils surrounding ACORN is the fact that the organization has lobbied against Second Amendment rights -- as seen by the New Jersey chapter supporting a one-gun-a-month ordinance in Jersey City.

Certainly any judicial nomination put forth by our anti-gun President is suspect, but it's interesting to note who his chief backer is in the U.S. Senate. It's none other than Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, who holds an "F" rating from Gun Owners of America.

Lugar has never failed to support one of Obama's anti-gun nominations, as evidenced by his votes for Attorney General Eric Holder, State Department lawyer Harold Koh, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and the incredibly wacky Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein.

On policy questions, Senator Lugar is no better. To wit, he voted against repealing the gun ban in Washington, DC this year.

Considering Hamilton's extreme track record, it's no wonder that Senator Lugar -- in introducing Hamilton to his colleagues -- begged his fellow Senators to ignore the judge's policy views.  Lugar asked them not to base their votes on "partisan considerations, much less on how we hope or predict a given judicial nominee will 'vote' on particular issues of public moment or controversy."

Instead, Lugar asked his colleagues "to evaluate judicial candidates on whether they have the requisite intellect, experience, character and temperament that Americans deserve from their judges...."

In other words, ignore Judge Hamilton's liberalism and just vote for him because he's so smart and because he's such a nice guy!

Judge Hamilton's rulings have made a lot of enemies on the political right, especially the one in Hinrichs v. Bosma where, according to a November 3 editorial in The Washington Times, he "prohibited prayers in the Indiana House of Representatives that expressly mentioned Jesus Christ... yet he allowed prayers which mentioned Allah."

Gun owners have much to be concerned about, as well. Anytime a judge who believes in rewriting the Constitution is elevated to sit as an appellate judge, that's a scary thing -- especially given the fact that most cases never reach the U.S. Supreme Court and are, thus, decided at lower levels in the federal judiciary.

ACTION: Please contact your Senators right away and urge them to vote AGAINST Judge David Hamilton.  You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your legislators the pre-written e-mail message below.

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Senator:

I urge you to vote against Judge David Hamilton for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  In addition to opposing his far left views, I don't appreciate his disdain for the Constitution.

To quote Senator Sessions, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

"Judge Hamilton stated in a 2003 speech that the role of a judge includes writing footnotes to the Constitution: 'Judge S. Hugh Dillin of this court has said that part of our job here as judges is to write a series of footnotes to the Constitution. We all do that every year in cases large and small.' In explaining this statement to Senator Hatch, Judge Hamilton wrote that he believes the Framers intended judges to amend the Constitution through evolving case law."

Of course, we have seen this pattern time and time again.  Judges ignore the clear wording of the Constitution -- in essence, amending the Constitution through each new case they decide.

The courts then become the vehicle for rewriting the Second Amendment!

Not surprisingly, Judge Hamilton's written answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee show his lack of understanding regarding the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.  While Hamilton cannot ignore what the Supreme Court said in DC v. Heller (2008), he refuses to admit that the individual right to keep and bear arms applies anywhere outside of Washington, D.C. -- instead, he just says he will rely on evolving "case law [as] developed in earlier incorporation cases."

Once again, evolving case law -- more often than not -- takes us away from what the Constitution actually says. 

Please vote NO on David Hamilton.

Sincerely,

[neverdem]

Compose your own letter. Lugar might as well be a moonbat.

[montag813]

There is a group fighting this: StopHamilton.com. They sent an email saying they are aiming to send 700,000 faxes (which apparently staffers are required to count, read and in most cases, respond via fax). Phone calls are ignored. Letters (like the GOA are also counted). I sent them some money since I don't have time to do this activist crap in the office.

They also said they would be running a TV ad in D.C. this weekend against Hamilton.

[Anti-Bubba182]

69,456,897

[albertabound]

Be afraid...very afraid... the warning signs here are ominious. These similarities with the Liberal makeover of Canada into a quasi Euro country under Pierre Trudeau are scary.

[b4its2late]

And the lunatics in the senate will push it through.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Radical leftist judges....Gee! no one saw that coming!...

[Noumenon]

Here’s a message for these fascist idiots:

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.”

[Logical me]

So far nothing will stop King Obama and his communists takeover of America. No peaceful means will stop this.

[bamahead]

Judge Hamilton stated in a 2003 speech that the role of a judge includes writing footnotes to the Constitution...Judge Hamilton wrote that he believes the Framers intended judges to amend the Constitution through evolving case law.



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[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Well, since he’s been charcterized as being radical, by definition he can’t be “mainstream” — therefore he should be rejected via the same arguments the Democrats have used against every Bush nomination.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

When the revolution comes, both David Hamilton and Dick Lugar will have their place at the gallows.

Time to buy stock in companies that make rope.

[Noumenon]

I want the ale, single malt and cigar concession.

[Clintonfatigued]

Filibuster him!

[Impy]

This judge is a total psycho.

RINO Lugar is disgusting for backing him.

[Clintonfatigued]

A lot of us in Indiana will be glad when Lugar retires.

[BillyBoy]

>> This judge is a total psycho. RINO Lugar is disgusting for backing him. <<

Freepers who say RINOs are acceptable in Dem majority states might want to consider what would happen if it wasn't just Lugar, and the media reported in glee that "Hamilton has a wide range of bipartisan support, as Senators Kirk (R-IL), Simmons (R-CT), and Castle (R-DE) have also pronounced Hamilton an "excellent well qualified consensus choice" after meeting the judge in person"

[GOPJ]

He’s a bad news judge...

[Impy]

So will conservatives nationwide.

Indiana has a much crappier Senate delegation that it should.

[Cacique]

After these “judges” are finished with the constitution they are going to work on the 10 commandments..

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.