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Specter On The Supreme Court, Antitrust Laws And His Health

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 10:19:09 AM EST
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Earlier this week I was on a call with Senator Arlen Specter. My questions for him focused on the Supreme Court and antitrust law.

I asked Senator Specter about his long expressed concern about the Supreme Court's disdain for Congressional fact finding. In response, Specter noted that Supreme court nominees Roberts and Alito were less than forthright regarding their approach to Congressional fact finding. He noted that while Chief Justice Roberts expressed an attitude of respect and "modesty" on the subject when a nominee for the Court, his behavior as Chief Justice, as expressed particularly regarding the extension of the Voting Rights Act, was exactly the opposite. Roberts is a judicial activist, and though Specter did not use those words, that was the essence of his comments.

I asked Senator Specter if, given the activist role the Court has played in antitrust law, if it were not time for the Congress to revisit our existing antitrust laws. Specter agreed with my observation and stated he would consider acting on it. More . .

Specter also discussed his continuing project to have the Supreme Court arguments televised. He noted that with the retirement of Justice Souter, the most notable opponent of televising Supreme Court oral arguments was no longer on the Court. He indicated that he will continue to fight for televising Supreme Court oral arguments.

Finally, I asked Senator Specter about his health. He indicated that his health was great and that, for now, he has completely beaten the cancer that afflicted him.

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    Specter On The Supreme Court, Antitrust Laws And His Health | 7 comments (7 topical)

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    Yes, Roberts is a judicial activist and many of us (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Angel on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 10:32:45 AM EST
    predicted that he would act that way if confirmed.  He is a proven liar and a sorry justice.  

    Yes, many of us knew before (none / 0) (#3)
    by sallywally on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 11:57:51 AM EST
    his appointment, from his past; so why didn't the members of the Senate???? How dumb can they be?

    Parent
    Simple (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by NYShooter on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 12:52:27 PM EST
    It was a Republican President; Roberts is a Republican; Our Democrats always do what the Republicans want.

    See? Simple.


    Parent

    BTD, how about fleshing out the antitrust (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 12:01:40 PM EST
    meme a bit for those of us who aren't up to speed on the subject?

    College football day (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 12:10:16 PM EST
    But here is a quick link - link.

    Parent
    But in Reality (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by The Maven on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 01:17:38 PM EST
    What likelihood is there that Sen. Specter would be in a position to move the issue?

    First, having lost all his seniority on the Judiciary Committee (and the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee), I wonder whether he'd really be able to get the ball rolling -- introducing a bill is one thing, but it doesn't mean very much if it lingers in committee.

    Second, unless his election opponents mysteriously give up, there's a decent chance he won't be in the Senate at all come 2011 (he's running even in the polls against Club for Growther Toomey and is under 50% in primary matchups with Sestak).  This would appear to argue that if Specter values his political survival, he'll have to make his campaign his focus, not a potential overhaul of antitrust laws, as necessary as that might be.  (As noted in yesterday's Floyd Norris column in the NYT, in 1990, the top ten financial institutions had about 10% of assets in the U.S., while last year that figure had increased to beyond 60%.  Yet this would be unlikely to trigger an antitrust inquiry under current laws and even a merger probably wouldn't run afoul of the HHI market concentration guidelines.  The result of this, of course, is the concept of "too big to fail".)

    I guess the takeaway here, however, is that we can take some degreee of solace in knowing that Specter appears to be moving steadily in the right direction, and should he end up as the Democratic nominee next year, will be able to provide an even stronger example of the politics of contrast to a reality-challenged foe on issues that, while not sexy, are vital to the direction of the nation.

    No discussion of Ricci as to judicial (none / 0) (#2)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 11:55:31 AM EST
    activism.  Hmmm.  

    Specter On The Supreme Court, Antitrust Laws And His Health | 7 comments (7 topical)

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