Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Santorum Unfit for the Senate

Yeah, Santorum is unfit for the Senate, in this case because he shows he knows nothing about the role of the judiciary, or the power of his own Senate law, evidently. Remember, part of a Senator's job is to Advise and Consent on judicial nominations. If you don't know how the judiciary works, how could you possibly do that?

Here's what he had to say on Newsmax today:
"You have judicial tyranny here," Santorum told WABC Radio in New York. "Congress passed a law that said that you had to look at this case. He simply thumbed his nose at Congress."

"What the statute that [Whittemore] was dealing with said was that he shall hold a trial de novo," the Pennsylvania Republican explained. "That means he has to hold a new trial. That's what the statute said."
"What he's saying is, 'I don't have to hold a new trial because I've already determined that her rights have been protected,'" Santorum said.

"That's nice for him to say that. But that's not what Congress told him to do," he added. "Judges should obey the law. And this judge - in my mind - simply ignored the law."

What Mr. Santorum doesn't understand is that every action brought into a court must pass a test in order to be tried. The law he helped pass gave the Schindlers the right to appeal, and even the right to a trial, but they still need to pass a threshhold in order for the case to be accepted. In this case, they needed to show a "substantial likelihood of success on the merits" in order to be provided relief. In this case that refers to the tube being reinserted. It is my understanding that despite seven years of litigating this case the Schindler's lawyers were not prepared to provide evidence to make such a valid claim.

That Santorum doesn't understand this is telling concerning his fitness for the job of Senator. Or is he willfully misunderstanding? In that case, he's clearly unfit.

Thanks here go to Atrios via Attytood. My, those Philly bloggers are GOOD!