The Democrats understand that they've lost the battle over judge Gorsuch; he will be confirmed as a justice of the Supreme Court. So how can I be certain that the Dems understand that? The answer: senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon held the senate floor overnight in his own personal filibuster against the nomination. These overnight talkathons have become a favorite of the Democrats. They did this for three different cabinet nominations, all of which they lost when the vote came. It's a stunt designed to show their base how much they are fighting against the GOP and President Trump, but that's all it is. It accomplishes nothing. It doesn't even get the other senators to stay on the floor. No one listens. But Merkley can say "I showed them."
And if one were to listen to Merkley what would be the point? Here's one of Merkley's gems of logic which he expressed in the HuffPo:
“In the infamous Hobby Lobby decision, Gorsuch embraced the disturbing philosophy that corporations are people. Then he extended that philosophy to say that corporations should be able to impose their owners’ religious views on their employees’ medical care — preventing women from accessing contraception through their insurance plans.”
Okay. Let's examine the "horror" that is the idea that corporations have legal rights like people do. Merkley says that they don't and the idea itself is disturbing. Now imagine this: suppose that your internet provider has a record of every email that you sent for the last month including the actual text of the message. If the government decides to investigate you, they need a warrant from a court to get copies of those emails. Of course, if a corporation does not have the rights of a person, then it would have no protection under the Fourth Amendment and no warrant would be required to see the emails. After all, this would be information held by an entity with no rights. Just imagine Merkley's outrage if all of his emails held by his provider were reviewed by the FBI. Or suppose that land owned by a corporation was needed for a new road. If the corporation has no rights as a person under the Constitution, the government could just seize the land without paying for it. Suppose now that a large wildlife refuge in Oregon owned by a non-profit corporation is in the way of a major project. Imagine Merkley's response if the government just took that land to build a highway and didn't even pay for it.
There are many other rights that could be used to illustrate why Merkley is spectacularly wrong. I won't waste your time with them.
And if one were to listen to Merkley what would be the point? Here's one of Merkley's gems of logic which he expressed in the HuffPo:
“In the infamous Hobby Lobby decision, Gorsuch embraced the disturbing philosophy that corporations are people. Then he extended that philosophy to say that corporations should be able to impose their owners’ religious views on their employees’ medical care — preventing women from accessing contraception through their insurance plans.”
Okay. Let's examine the "horror" that is the idea that corporations have legal rights like people do. Merkley says that they don't and the idea itself is disturbing. Now imagine this: suppose that your internet provider has a record of every email that you sent for the last month including the actual text of the message. If the government decides to investigate you, they need a warrant from a court to get copies of those emails. Of course, if a corporation does not have the rights of a person, then it would have no protection under the Fourth Amendment and no warrant would be required to see the emails. After all, this would be information held by an entity with no rights. Just imagine Merkley's outrage if all of his emails held by his provider were reviewed by the FBI. Or suppose that land owned by a corporation was needed for a new road. If the corporation has no rights as a person under the Constitution, the government could just seize the land without paying for it. Suppose now that a large wildlife refuge in Oregon owned by a non-profit corporation is in the way of a major project. Imagine Merkley's response if the government just took that land to build a highway and didn't even pay for it.
There are many other rights that could be used to illustrate why Merkley is spectacularly wrong. I won't waste your time with them.
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