The editors of the Washington Post oppose protesting at the homes of judges or politicians (to the extent that those are two different groups):
Monday night’s demonstration was organized by the liberal group ShutDown DC to demand Justice Kavanaugh’s resignation because of his recent vote not to block a Texas law banning abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. “Another blatant attempt to intimidate the judiciary,†said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa). Notably, and to their credit, two Democratic senators who opposed Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), also denounced the protest. “Politics ain’t beanbag. We all know that you have to have a tough mental hide to be in this business,†Mr. Durbin said Tuesday at the start of a Judiciary Committee hearing. “But it’s absolutely unacceptable, from my point of view, to involve any major public figure’s family or their home or to involve yourself in criminal trespass in the name of political freedom of speech.†Those not happy with the court’s action, he and Mr. Leahy said, should express themselves at the ballot box or outside the courthouse.
We agree. Leave spouses, children and homes out of it. If that appeal for basic civility and decency isn’t persuasive, those who engage in these reprehensible tactics should realize they are only hurting their cause when it is overshadowed by their tactics.
I disagree with them or, more precisely, I consider this two distinct questions:
- Should people be allowed to protest at the homes of judges?
- Should they be allowed to protest at the homes of elected officials?
I’m actually chary of protests at anybody’s home since I think that all demonstrations carry implied threats of violence. Mob action is hard to contain. But I distinguish between Supreme Court justices and elected federal officials. The Supreme Court is supposed to be the technocratic wing of the federal government, not serving at the pleasure of the executive or even of the people. They are supposed to be legal scholars who arrive at rulings based on the law and precedent rather than ideology or politics. Rather than moving in the direction of a more politicized court we should be going in the opposite direction.
Therefore my answer is I don’t think they should be protesting at all and protests are uncivil by their nature but to the degree that such protests are their right protesting in front of homes is not out-of-bounds.
I would also submit some questions. Should people be allowed to protest in front of the White House? If your answer is “yes”, how do you square that with the editors’ view? I don’t think it can be done.
If I were rich, it might be fun to hire protesters to protest at the homes of protesters who protest at homes.
Physicians have had people protesting at their homes and places of work for years. No one seemed to care. We have had protestors going to the home of doctors just because they promoted masks. Not a word. Some wealthy, privileged lawyer has to deal with them and we get op eds in leading newspapers. I find it hard to believe that there is any principle at stake here, just protecting the powerful. God forbid they suffer even the tiniest inconvenience.
Steve
Shorter: if you don’t like the heat get out of the kitchen.
Protest is part of America’s lineage. We became a country through protest. Attention to civil rights was done via protest. If the politically correct industry gets their hands on what protest is allowed and what is not, we will just continue down the path of duct-taping free speech. IMO, peaceful protest should not be censored or restrained, and only shut down when said protest signals a turning towards violence.
I think the argument is that an impartial and independent judiciary is a foundation to rule of law — and from that, a lot of the things Americans take for granted; like the right of protest itself.
The irony of the protestors is they don’t perceive they may be on the other side someday, needing an independent judiciary that isn’t cowed by the passions of the day.
Peaceful protests are legit.
Spray paint, blood, and severed pig’s heads are beyond the pale.
But you know, if the signs you hold don’t have the desired effect,,,,,,
As I say, CuriousOnlooker, we should be trying to figure out how to make the judiciary less political rather than mau-mauing to ensure we get our way by making it more political.