Rehnquist says no to attacks on "judicial activism"

Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a man who has shifted America rightward more than any other American in the past half-century (read about it in John Dean's The Rehnquist Choice, an interesting, informative and, above all, well-written book), has said that attacks on judges who practice so called "judicial activism" are off base.

U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed concern on Saturday that criticism of federal judges had increased in recent years, particularly for "judicial activism."

"Criticism of judges has dramatically increased in recent years, exacerbating in some respects the strained relationship between the Congress and the federal judiciary," he said in his 2004 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.

"Although arguments over the federal judiciary have always been with us, criticism of judges, including charges of activism, have in the eyes of some taken a new turn in recent years," said Rehnquist, who has been absent from the Supreme Court since he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in October.

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The fact is that the right's use of "judicial activism" is just like their use of "school busing" or biblical quotations; they use code words that sound good to moderates but acually signal other (often radical) beliefs to their core supporters. In the coming years, if the Democrats want to be competitive, they must figure out how to use such code words effectively. I don't really know how to do this, but I do know it needs to be done.