The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Conservative Ideologues on the Bench
Royce C. Lamberth, Chief Judge of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia and Reagan Administration appointee, had a bit of a change of heart. It seems that, after throwing the original case out, Judge Lamberth now decided that the Obama Administration’s executive ordered expansion of stem cell research violates the ban on federal money being used to destroy embryos.
The development has the scientific community in upheaval, not only because the resulting injunction puts the brakes on all research being done throughout the nation, but also because it presents the distinct possibility of rendering all stem cell research being done in the US illegal.
Ironically, the case was resurrected by the appeals process after all religiously affiliated plaintiffs were dropped from the original lawsuit, and only two plaintiffs remained: Stem cell researchers James L. Sherley and Theresa Deisher. The gist of the decision? The new administration's guidelines would unfairly increase competition amongst researchers for a small pool of federal funding, and thus hinder the plaintiffs from obtaining funding for stem cell research in areas other than embryonic.
Judge Lamberth’s decision is not uncommon in the disturbing trend that reached its zenith during the Bush Administration’s run: More activist decisions that either stop or reverse the course of American progress, brought to you by conservative ideologues on the bench. But just because it has already reached its peak, it doesn’t mean the trend is not going to be ongoing for years to come.
After all, Karl Rove’s pipe dream of the permanent conservative majority might not have been achieved through the will of the people. But, just in case you weren’t keeping score, what better way could there be to impose ideology upon a nation than to appoint activists kindred spirits to lifetime posts on the bench?
Judge Lamberth’s decision is only the latest salvo in an escalating war against a more perfect Union. It’s not the first, and it definitely won’t be the last.
Welcome to permanent conservative dogma, available at a court near you.
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