As I said I would do, I am following the John Roberts nomination and finding info wherever I can.

He apparently is a member of the Federalist Society. See this comprehensive background article on John Roberts from Dkosopedia.

See this Dkosopedia article for much more on the Federalist Society’s background. The Federalist Society is less than 25 years old. It was apparently founded in part by Ed Meese. Remember Ed Meese? The money to build the organization came from the Santa Clause of the hard religious right, Mr. Scaife.

People for the American Way had this to say about the Federalist Society, as of 2002.

I generally disapprove of the philosophy of the Federalist Society, which I view as theocratic because of its talk about injecting “traditional values” into the legal system. I view “traditional values” as a term that actually means “a kinder gentler theocracy”.

I concur with the excerpt below in criticizing the Federalist Society for wanting to role back the clock about 150 years.

Idealogues like those in the Federalist Society are no more persuasive than religious fanatics - They have a belief system that they take on faith and they attempt to rigidly apply that belief system to the ever-gray areas of reality.

I can’t blame people for needing a set of guiding principles, but let’s be frank that the Federalists are just like religious zealots in their unrealistic belief that America should return to the legal attitudes of a time long lost. (And by the way, I feel similarly about hardcore economic libertarian zealots who consider the unfettered free market as being the ideal - we already tried that, in times long past, and it failed)

Ask yourself something: Why is it that we evolved as a society, and in our attitudes and laws, AWAY FROM the attitudes of 150 years ago?

Might the following have played a teensy little role?: We addressed REAL PROBLEMS that resulted from our growth as a nation. For example, we created environmental laws out of necessity as unfettered businessmen poisoned our air and water. We created labor codes because we got sick and tired of unfettered businessmen overworking our children, and paying wages so low that our people had to work 12 hour days to buy basic necessities, and killing our workers with unsafe workplaces.

I could go on and on. I guess I might mention the lack of equality in our society, and the need for civil rights laws.

Anyway, I view the Federalist Society as a backdoor way to undo the enlightenment and impose utopian theocratic principles on society. I inject theocracy into the mix because it just happens that the Federalist Society philosophy promotes the intermixing of conservative religious doctrine and government. It’s my view that those attracted to the Federalists tend to fit the mold of religious conservatives, more so than they do libertarianism.

I rejected the opportunity to join the Federalist Society in law school, at Washington University, primarily because I viewed the society as being, in reality, dedicated to breaking down the wall of separation between church and state. However, I respect a lot of the non-religious positions of the Federalists.

Businessmen will love what the Federalists do. But the common working people would suffer if the Federalists were to have their way.

But that’s just my opinion, and I could be wrong. So give me some feedback and set me straight.

I don’t think we need another Federalist on the Supreme Court. We already have two it seems.

Yes, I guess that means Bush and the Republicans are trying to have the Federalists take over the Supreme Court.

Remember: Federalists who are active Republicans are not just Republicans —- they are a special breed of Republican; zealots who want to undo all manner of progressive legislation. We don’t need zealots of any stripe on the Supreme Court.

(However, it’s always possible that Roberts is not a zealot himself, and just likes to be a member of the Federalists for the resume points and the friendship - so he might be ok after all)

But I vote no on Roberts, because of his involvement with the Federalist Society, until he shows that he himself will not act as a zealot on the Court.

Judicial Nominees Special Report: John G. Roberts
He is also a member of the Federalist Society, an ultra-conservative organization committed to returning to a pre-Civil War era of unquestioned states’ rights and rolling back legislation that has advanced women’s rights, civil rights, environmental protections and health and safety standards. Federalist Society heroes and leaders you might recognize are Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).