Sen. Dodd Says Chief Justice Roberts Misled Him on Abortion

[dovecry2]

The US Supreme Court legalized the killing of unborn babies - at the Fed level it was okayed to kill - over half of those babies would be tax paying menbers of society today had the Supreme Court not Okayed it to kill - I was not so desperate that I would have sought a back alley abortion- it's just that it was handed to me on a silver platter covered with a silver lid of lies - The Supreme Court needs to face it - our streets are running red with the blood of the innocents

[brickwood]

F here. home alone with a webcam H

[acool76]

very well done clip, little fellah! keep up the great work.

[scientistwriter]

Abortion is not an issue that the federal government should regulate, it belongs to the state.

Not only that this is a non-issue.

Everyone needs to be focused on shutting down the federal reserve and getting back sound and honest money.

[thebig1]

I agree with that, problem is its never going to happen. Therefore you can bet your butt if the GOP members of that court have a chance to kill off abortion they will do so.

[mjconley12]

LOL. Does anyone else see the irony? Killing off abortion...LOL.

[padraicbg]

I understand Dodd's disapointment with Roberts. If you listen to him carefully during is confirmation testimony, Roberts is a master at sidestepping. That is saying something that you think at the time answers your question, but if you read his answer later, he really didn't answer your question. He's a tricky guy.

[clevomon]

Although Dodd was misleading, I respect his decision. Any Bush justices would be pro-life. There was no getting around that. Roberts, appearing fairly moderate, was better than many of the alternatives.

[thebig1]

Well since Roberts and Alito were confirmed to the court it has gotten a great deal more conservative. If Stevens doesn't retire soon the GOP will have a chance to pick his replacement in 2012 along with the very unhealthy Ginsberg. We'll see what happens.

[scuba2024]

considering Dodd is the only one of the 8 candidates not to have any comments on his campaign website regarding reproductive rights, I'd say that he backed himself into a corner with his vote on roberts, regrets it terribly, and should've understood that roberts was a Bush nominee to the Supreme Court... of course he's pro-life

[sagsarvestani]

That's why you're all so adamant about shoring up the weak,dare I say unconstitutional abortion law-what you know you can't win in a state by state popular vote,you can legislate from the bench with enough ACLU idiots like Ginsburg up there claiming to unearth 'penumbras'.Dry THAT one out an fertilize the lawn with it.

[sagsarvestani]

I got an Idea!Since all you democrats and liberals wrongfully claim we are a democracy,(we are a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC,in a PURE democracy all would vote,every time a vote was taken,and on EVERY issue no matter how mundane),whaddaya say we do it YOUR way and put it to a national popular vote,one state at a time.Up for that?You know damned well you'd lose Roe v Wade.

[sagsarvestani]

Boy mountain view is spewing the venom.What's traitorous about him?Is he preaching anti-war propaganda like the Tokyo Roses of today,from Reid,to Kerry,to Mirtha,to Durbin,to Pelosi,Clinton,Conyers,Kennedy­,Waxman..shall I go on,or are you just afraid Roberts might call a spade a spade about Roe v Wade,possibly the worst example of bad constitutional law on the books?

[alltvisanimated]

Someone! Please! Come out with a bumper sticker that reads: "BONG HITS FOR JOHN ROBERTS" Because he(John Roberts) really will not like that! And he needs a bong hit!!!

[alltvisanimated]

Bong Hits for John Roberts! Fuck You John Roberts!

[josj15]

he needs a bong hit

[themountainviewguy]

Roberts was misleading - a downright traitor as most of 5 right wing justices are. Blaming Dodd is wrong. Blame the system, and the Republicans abuse of it. The Bush Whitehouse has been unique in being a slow acting poison to the US government, as the far right wing has said they would be - it will get worse before it gets better.

[mismindles]

I appreciate your coverage of this. I was looking to see what candidates were pro-life or pro-choice and this one answered my question about Dodd. I know they are all for abortion, but to what extent I did not know, so this one cleared it up for me where Dodd is concerned. Thanks.

[SurvivorsIndiana]

Roberts and Alito are not pro-life. There are 0 pro-life Supreme Court justices currently. At best, some of them are pro-choice state-by-state. None of them are pro-life by any stretch of the imagination.

[lnlgs]

dodd is a republican in democrats clothing . look at his voting

[Secularprophet]

I'm a recent subscriber and find that generally you have a good ear for a story. But this piece is an exception. The debate comment was perhaps over-broad (note that this candidate said that he would not have changed his vote), but in the scheme of things rather minor. How about a piece on the Whitehouse emails? Or if you have the resources, the prosecution records on political cases for the AG's that weren't fired. There's a lot of important stuff out there but this ain't it.

[LiberalViewer]

Secularprophet,

I should explain that Ive never pretended to present the most important issues or a complete picture of what's happening in the world. I make vids that interest me, where I think my background/skills/knowledge give me something worth saying or that I havent seen said. Given the choice, tho, I do try to focus on more important issues, but I'll readily admit some of my vids are just silly.

MORE:

[LiberalViewer]

MORE:

On the AG scandal specifically, the biggest prob I have getting "excoted" about that one is that, having worked a year as a law clerk for the fed pub defender, I found that almost every decision made in the offices of the US Attorneys is at least in part political

I seriously appreciate your feedback :-)

[LiberalViewer]

PS the word "excoted" was supposed to be "excited." I'm also a bad typist :-(

[Secularprophet]

It's your time and effort and I would not presume that you would do anything other than what is of interest to you. Maybe you see your place is at the fringe. I do not. You have the talent to make note of important things.

[ZanderJSketch]

I think that the media's the only real reason that anyone's being misleading, people care too much about how they look and not what they do.

[yigit2681]

personally, i think abortion is barbaric and that it should be banned along with alcohol, mcdonalds and cigarettes. i really hate republicans, but i would love to see roe vs wade overturned.

[lrgpp]

I watched the confirmation hearings with great interest and let me just say that your presentation here is wonderful. I've just discovered your channel so let me say (in danger of being overemotional)I LOVE YOU MAN. BTW, I thought that Roberts was as careful as he could be to say that he would decide cases based on precedent and other factors not promising anything.He seemed interested in keeping the Judical and Legislative SEPARATE and not beholden one to the other.

[lrgpp]

The main focal point of Stare Decisis was something I learned about during the confirmation hearings.Roberts opinions on Roe constured from his recorded work with the Reagan admin painted him as an idealogue in the eyes of dems on the committee.His record in totality and his careful answers made it clear that he was an excellent jurist and impossible to vote down as an idealist.Sen Feingold,a Harvard lawyer and hard questioner of Roberts voted "aye" and supports this.

[napoli3922]

Sen Dodd was definitely more misleading that Roberts, but maybe the senator thought Roberts said or implied that he would not go against Row v Wade precedence.

Either way, I don't think the Federal government has a constitutional right to decide anything on abortion one way or the other.

Thank you for your videos and comments, LiberalViewer!

[vashthestampede11]

Partial Birth abortion is wrong plain and simple and should be made illegal.

[schizotypicalgay]

Sen Dodd should had not trust Roberts and definitely was misled by him.

[J1Goro]

This is the most important topic for Democrats to argue about... LiberalViewer is a tool. Enough said.

[LiberalViewer]

J1Goro,

Actually, I don't think your post had "enough said" to explain your accusation that I'm a "tool." Still,

thx 4 comment :-)

[J1Goro]

Doesn't it...

[J1Goro]

You constantly avoid anything about war. This is the issue of the day.

[charlietcc]

"roberts outlawed late term abortions under all circumstances."

What makes you think dismembering a dead fetus counts as an abortion under any law?

[charlietcc]

"As a result, now, a dead fetus will have to be dismembered in the womb and then withdrawn."

What statute(s) dictate(s) that?

[egkraft]

Roberts did his best at argumentative and un-answerable questions. Dodd is disingenuous, but that I what I expect from political candidates. Remember, the appointment process is not supposed to be political and the justices are not political, in the true sense of the word. Roberts was alarmingly candid, I thought.

[amazingstarbeam]

I think that regardless of what Robert's said...anyone that Bush nominates is a liar...if he hadn't been confirmed, we might have gotten someone even worse! I only wish the Democrats had the majority when the confirmation hearings were going on.

[MSJelin]

For the first one, he did something he IMPLIED he wouldn't do. So it's fairly close...

And I'd say the John Roberts was more misleading.

[gobblegobblechew]

Politicians side with opinion polls. They have no opinion of their own. Im sure Dodd, would only choose whats most popular. Dodd is a victim of stupidity.

[QuasiEvilScott]

Honestly? It strikes me that its more a part of foolishness on the senates part than any deception for any other reason. "The benefit of the doubt" is useful when on trial - or when dealing with electable people. But for me, the "for life" aspect of supreme court Justices, means you don't leave anything to doubt. <Shrug> I'm a legal realist - the Supreme Court makes law, and I'm already missing the days of Sandra Day...

-Qes

[DaCoach68]

One could assume that ANY Bush appointee would lie. Everyone else connected this 'administration' does! Roberts merely gave a ambigious answer--he never DID say he'd uphold existing laws...just that there would be a mess WHEN HE DIDN'T!

[kencomer]

We need an amendment for 27 Supreme Court Justices [SCJ] with appeals processes for 3/9/27 SCJ panels. The post of "Chief Justice" will be randomly assigned [RA] each three months to three SCJs each time (who preside in 9 SCJ panels, and who preside as a tribune over full panels). SCJ career limits would be based on a panel quota with 9-yr extensions.

This petty decision by this stupid Chief Justice and this gullible senator means nothing.

[TheGiantRobot]

If Dodd had honestly told us why he voted for a conservative judge, I might have respected him. But he was deceived? Yet, he has no regret?? So the best possible thing I can take from this is he's not paying attention and doesn't regret it. Might as well drop out now.

[JackAwful]

A key point was the mention of that (paraphrase) (Roberts)"said he was not an ideologue". I'd like to see the passage of Roberts testimony that gave Todd this notion.

[fishhead06]

If I recall Roberts' testimony correctly, he carefully avoided being definitive about ANYTHING.

[LambdaFox]

Dodd's claim seems inconsistent with his positioning himself as the "experienced statesman". If Hillary or Barak or even Edwards made a similar claim -- maybe on a big stretch -- but, Chris Dodd??

[Urgelt]

Eh. Roberts didn't lie, he just didn't close the door on any position he might take down the road.

Dodd, on the other hand, should have known that Roberts was an ideologue. His track record didn't start in a Senate confirmation hearing.

[MartySchrader]

I hate to back that reactionary knee-jerking Roberts up on this, but Dodd was suffering a particularly bad case of selective hearing when he claimed that Roberts wasn't going to go against precedent. Also, you will find that no SC Justice ever claims to be hogtied by precedent; in fact, altering legal findings after the fact is part of their job description.

Put a small one under the foamer Republican's side.

[skinnychef]

hey, i think the comments are going weird and out of context... i am pretty much in agreement with you...

[skinnychef]

well, there IS thge loophole that the legislation does NOT use medical terminology, so they have really made a concept illegal more than an actual medical procedure...

[WarNoMore58]

I call the people who still support Bush the "Cult of the Foxnotized".

[WarNoMore58]

haaretz2, check out a documentary called "the power of nightmares" on google video. It shows how the Republican party allied itself with religious crackpots and why.

[WarNoMore58]

I agree that that would be best but in 1984 congress past a social security act that was designed to eliminate public assistance. If you look at the laws that mandate child support in the US you will find that it is just a way to document the actual income of a woman in order to disqualify her from any public benefits. It started with the SS act which brought about USC 42 which was eventually adopted by the states.

[WarNoMore58]

Since we got off on the wrong foot once before let me apologize for accepting what I was told without doing any research. I just googled it and found out that you were right.

[skinnychef]

jeez, all that for getting knocked up?!? what an incentive to become a baby making machine!!!

[skinnychef]

i think she got some great incentives to leave...slut bitch!

[WarNoMore58]

Not a doctor, just a former supervisor for medical records in a large gynecology office. That is not the way it was explained to me but if you are right and I am wrong then it was a dirty trick like you say.

[WarNoMore58]

Is it possible to support a womans right to choose but think they should choose before partial birth abortion is the only option? I don't see that as being an unreasonable burden on women.

[skinnychef]

this type of abortion is primarily done in emergencies to protect the health of the woman.

[WarNoMore58]

The place I worked was Renaissance womens group in Austin and they did not perform abortions so I admit that it is probable that I was misinformed.

[dafttool]

Dodd is trying to cover his own a**, after the fact. But Roberts was indeed more misleading of the two men. He obfuscated his opinions in order to slide through confirmation hearings. Dodd was a single vote, but Roberts gave a long series of testimonies deviously concealing his true intentions.

[mikheii]

yeah, roberts was the one trying to get a job, dodd was just being fair and impartial

[skinnychef]

but dodd was supposed to be doing his job too, and if a follow up question was in order, he dropped the ball on an obvious non-answer. ( i mean, c'mn, if I can see it, why couldn't he, with all his credentials...?)

[LiberalViewer]

skinnychef,

FYI, Dodd was NOT on the Senate Judiciary Committee that questioned Roberts, but he did claim to have heard enough to get him to vote for Roberts as he explained in great detail in the speech he made at the time that you can see at:

tinyurl(.)com/2ea9x9

Thx, as always, 4 comments :-)

[LiberalViewer]

OOPS, make that:

tinyurl(.)com/2dgrd5

[fishhead06]

To be fair, the Committee let Roberts get away with his non-answers, and then let him slide through the hearings. These people aren't dumb, they knew what Roberts was doing and they knew what they were doing. Dodd is being disingenuous, to put it charitably.

[dafttool]

Fishhead, I agree with you that the committee allowed non-answers to suffice. It was obvious to any observer how easily they let sensitive issues slide. But, I still feel the worse onus of fault falls more on the one who was deceptive while under oath, than the one charged with determining the veracity of Robert's answers. That being said, Dodd is a non-entity who is frankly wasting our time running for president. He's doing damage control here, but nobody cares.

[DamNationDiplomat]

People in the practice of law (IE dodd and roberts) tend to be talented at saying things without saying anything, i think they both showed their skill in this, rather than dodging a bullet, they both seem to perfer to say "Do YOU think the bullet hit me?"

[paul121784]

no, roberts is a lawyer, if his lips are moving, he's lying, and he did his best to not answer any quetions, no senator should have voted from him based on his unwillingness to answer question

[skinnychef]

agreed. he said nothing quite eloquently!

[BeatBuddy]

Unfortunately, most people are impervious to the subtle manipulation of words. When someone on the bench, or on the pulpit speaks, it's best to stay attuned to the fine print.