# Whitehouse consults Falwell on Judicial Nominess.. WTF?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173 "2005-07-19T18:07:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/1 "2005-07-19T18:07:46Z")
From [this article](http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20050713213818277): > [@](#): > > HRC via BBSNews 2005-07-13 – WASHINGTON - The New York Times revealed today that White House officials have sought out advice on a Supreme Court nominee from Rev. Jerry Falwell, one of the most divisive far-right figures in America today. What the Fuck? What the fuck what the fuck? Why does Falwell’s opinion matter a rat’s ass in the judicial appointment process? Did Bush consult with the Human Rights Campaign or with the National Organization for Women? What does this half-dead old asshole have to do with anything in any of the three houses of government other than at election time (when, news flash Rove: he’s going to support whichever candidate is most conservative anyway, count on it, you don’t have to liquor him up to get his support)? Falwell says he will not [name a judicial nominee](http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783856981&path=). Well, that’s mighty white o’ ya, Jerry (though he is circulating petitions asking that bipartisan and consensus nominees be stricken). Does the White House really need Falwell’s help to be a little more idiotic and hated and divide the country just a little bit more? Are there no more CIA operatives to out so you have time to do this? Pious fuckers. Quite alright to lie about WMDs, lie about Rove’s involvement in Plame, lie about every other damned thing that suits them, but let’s have some morality on the bench (morality meaning “thinks like we do”). I think Bush and Falwell and Rove and their ilk will ultimately do more to destroy Christianity than Muhammad ever hoped for with their “Christ Among the Spin Doctors” brand of the religion. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/2 "2005-07-19T18:19:32Z")
Piffle! Pish-tosh to your weenie liberal whining! What this country needs is a Faith-Based Judiciary! One that will apply God’s Law to God’s Country! What we need is Old-Time Religion in the courtroom, and none of that multiculturalistic, diversity-enabling, wishy-washy coddling of unbelievers. So what if they don’t like it? Let 'em go somewhere else where their atheistic traitorous gay-hugging tolerance-spouting kind are welcome – at least till the Righteous prevail over all the world. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/3 "2005-07-19T18:21:55Z")
Do you mean someone from the Republican party has been caught pandering to the extremist right? _gasp_ ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/4 "2005-07-19T18:22:45Z")
Some might say that since Christians continue to be marginalized and disempowered in this country, fair’s fair. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/5 "2005-07-19T18:24:47Z")
> [@RTA](#): > > Some might say that since Christians continue to be marginalized and disempowered in this country, fair’s fair. I agree that Christians are being disempowered and marginalized, but I think it’s people like Jerry Falwell that are doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/6 "2005-07-19T18:25:18Z")
I consult people whose opinions I don’t really care about all the time. It makes them feel good. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/7 "2005-07-19T18:27:03Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > I consult people whose opinions I don’t really care about all the time. It makes them feel good. Why should Bush care about whether Falwell feels good? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/8 "2005-07-19T18:27:23Z")
> [@RTA](#): > > Some might say that since Christians continue to be marginalized and disempowered in this country, fair’s fair. Things are getting better. Actually, there’s a Christian elected official now. There are evenly openly Christian people in Congress. Rumor has it that Bush himself is a Christian. Some churches have come out from underground and even announce their denomination and even advertise their services in the newspaper! (I’ll admit I miss the old days when you could go to the local high school football field and see Christians fed to wild animals, but the damned ACLU said it was a church-state violation.) ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/9 "2005-07-19T18:27:47Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Why should Bush care about whether Falwell feels good? If he doesn’t Falwell won’t recommend him to the Spirit in the Sky. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/10 "2005-07-19T18:28:37Z")
Maybe Dubya is going to offer the spot to Falwell. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/11 "2005-07-19T18:29:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Things are getting better. > Actually, there’s a Christian elected official now. There are evenly openly Christian people in Congress. Rumor has it that Bush himself is a Christian. Some churches have come out from underground and even announce their denomination and even advertise their services in the newspaper! (I’ll admit I miss the old days when you could go to the local high school football field and see Christians fed to wild animals, but the damned ACLU said it was a church-state violation.) I hear Christians are even allowed to marry in some states, and there are buildings in many cities where they openly gather! ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/12 "2005-07-19T18:31:44Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > Maybe Dubya is going to offer the spot to Falwell. LOL - well that’d save me the heartbreak of seeing America yet again ignore the overwhelming evidence that things aren’t going well and voting Republican again next year, as my head would immediately explode with the force of 1,000 supernovas. And word to **Sampiro’s** last comment. I too dream of an America where Christians can worship freely. Maybe we’ll even have an openly Christian president, or even 43 of them! (credit to Jon Stewart) ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/13 "2005-07-19T18:35:27Z")
And by “marginalized and disempowered” I mean, of course, “After 1700 years of utter dominance in the Western World, there are still a few gorges that struggle to remain closed to their force-fed fairy tales.” ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/14 "2005-07-19T18:35:29Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Why should Bush care about whether Falwell feels good? Because religious conservatives are an important Republican constituency? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/15 "2005-07-19T18:43:05Z")
I don’t believe either Bush or Falwell care if abortion is legal or not. Each of them exploits the anti-abortion sector of the population- Bush skims off the easiest votes in the world and Falwell cashes their donations. They both know that to actually overturn Roe v. Wade would not be in Bush’s political nor in Falwell’s financial interest, since it would demobilize their bases. Bush is more interested in getting the Court packed with those who will side with his cronies in big business. The delicate part for Bush is telling the right to lifers that he’s one of them, he just isn’t going to nominate someone to overturn Roe. The delicate part for Falwell is telling his flock with a straight face that if they don’t keep voting Republican, then the dirty Dems will keep Roe from being overturned. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/16 "2005-07-19T18:43:51Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Because religious conservatives are an important Republican constituency? We don’t want facts in this thread. This is obviously Divinely intended to be a faith-based thread. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/17 "2005-07-19T19:00:16Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (though he is circulating petitions asking that bipartisan and consensus nominees be stricken) Huh? He’s trying to make a show of popular support _against_ popular candidates? Has politics always been such a train wreck and I’ve just been too wrapped up in my own problems to notice? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/18 "2005-07-19T19:19:22Z")
This isn’t all that odd, other than the fact that this is the sort of thing that happens after Bush and his apologists whine about how they shouldn’t be held responsible for Falwell or people like him because he has no power or influence and is persona non grata. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/19 "2005-07-19T19:24:08Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Has politics always been such a train wreck and I’ve just been too wrapped up in my own problems to notice? Good heavens no. It’s always been a trainwreck to some degree, but this group really knows how to run some shit off the rails. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-consults-falwell-on-judicial-nominess-wtf/313173/20 "2005-07-19T19:30:02Z")
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