Filed under: Author - ACG, Politics | Tags: David Vitter, Equality, Law, Loving v. Virginia, Racism
A great moment for Tulane Law School — their alumnus, Senator David Vitter has “no idea” if Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), was rightly decided. Could it have been judicial activism run amok? Maybe!
It’s forgivable for politicians to not know Supreme Court cases. I wouldn’t expect a sitting Senator to be able to tell me what he thought of Lochner v. New York, or even Kelo v. City of New London. But knowing Loving v. Virginia, the case that finally crushed the white supremacist movement by invalidating miscegenation laws, is a matter of good citizenship, and it’s taught in literally every law school, ever. There are questions you can’t brush off, and there are those that you shouldn’t: “was Loving rightly decided?” is one of the two, and whichever one it was, Vitter failed the test.
As Evan reminds us, Vitter was the only Senator not to comment on the Louisiana judge who refused to marry mixed-race couples. Now we can imagine why.
h/t Evan at BreakTheTerror.
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You think? I mean, I own up to being a major wonk, if an amateur, but I’d say those were serious business…
Comment by Mike November 18, 2009 @ 5:46 pmI would hope they would… and I think they should… but I’m trying to be realistic :). Unfortunately, people don’t know as much about these things as they probably should. It scares me, Mike — I just love my country. And I fear for her.
:’-(
Comment by ACG November 18, 2009 @ 6:03 pm*chuckle*
It’s strange, because at ANY time, it would be pathetic for a sitting senator to have trouble recalling Loving. But, when there has just been an incident in YOUR state which violates that very ruling, an incident which has gotten a lot of press…
Unbelievable.
I’m also curious how healthcare is taking up so much of his time, since the only thing Diapers and his buddies are doing is saying NO repeatedly.
Comment by Break the Terror (Evan) November 18, 2009 @ 9:11 pmI think “infer” is warranted.
Comment by Mike from Ottawa November 22, 2009 @ 2:43 am