March 8, 2013 by David K. Sutton

Justice Antonin Scalia Is The Rush Limbaugh Of The Supreme Court

Last week Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said the Voting Rights Act was a “racial entitlement.” Funny, I didn’t know protection of minority rights were entitlements. What does a white boy gotta do to get him some entitlements?

Adding to his offensive screed, Scalia said:

I am fairly confident it [the Voting Rights Act] will be reenacted in perpetuity unless, unless a court can say it does not comport with the Constitution…It’s a concern that this is not the kind of question you can leave to Congress…Even the name of it is wonderful. The “Voting Rights Act.” Who is going to vote against that in the future?

I agree with Stephen Colbert when he said it would take an a-hole to vote against that in the future, but Scalia is the a-hole who would vote against it in the present.

And someone needs to explain why it would be wrong for the Voting Rights Act to live in perpetuity. So what? It was and is an important piece of civil rights legislation. Even if you could declare that all discrimination has ceased to exist, what harm comes from having the Voting Rights Act on the books? If we could end robbery, we wouldn’t declare robbery is no longer illegal. I know that is a bit of a stretch, but it still illustrates the point. Laws exist for a reason. And yes, sometimes there is a good reason to do away with a law. But ending a law that clearly serves an important function to protect the voting rights of minorities is not something to be taken lightly.

The Voting Rights Act should not be fodder. A Supreme Court justice should not use his critique of such an important piece of legislation as a way to evoke a reaction. As Rachel Maddow put it: Scalia is a troll. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s trying to get a rise out of everyone.

And so I also agree with Julian Bond when he said, “He [Justice Scalia] is the Rush Limbaugh of the Supreme Court.”