December 13, 2013

What Liberals don't get about Judicial Conservatism

By Ben Cohen
While driving from Houston to Chicago this author had occasion to listen to Jeffrey Toobin's recent The Oath, a book about the relationship between the Robert's court and the Obama Administration. CNN watchers may recall Toobin for his legal analysis during the Zimmerman trial; Toobin is also a prolific writer for such publications as The New Yorker. Those familiar with him will know that Toobin is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, a liberal's liberal. Still, Toobin takes a refreshingly civil and diplomatic tone toward conservatives, unlike the screamers on MSNBC and elsewhere. All the same, Toobin's work does suffer from a common flaw: he can't quite explain the other side's position in a way that would make it seem sensible, (by no means a flaw exclusive to those on the left). Toobin's readers are likely to be overwhelmingly liberal and sympathetic to Toobin's political and legal views; he deprives these readers of a full appreciation for the different legal philosophies in...(Read Full Article)