Democrats cry injustice

Senate Democrats are furious with Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito — and Alito’s Democrats say Alito crossed the line when he mouthed the words “not true” during President Barack Obama’s speech Wednesday night. But worse, they say, both Roberts and Alito misled them during their confirmation hearings when they represented themselves as jurists who would respect precedent. ..

“You bet they misled,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the assistant majority leaderSenate Judiciary Committee. and a member of the

At issue is the ruling in Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) that dealt with regulations on labor union and corporate financing.

Supporters say that Alito, Roberts and the three other justices in the majority simply returned to the original meaning of the First Amendment — that the ruling was intended to uphold the right of free speech.

“I really believe that an injustice was done to the First Amendment and political speech in the earlier decision,” said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a Judiciary Committee member who has argued before the high court. “I don’t think that’s activism.”

But Democrats see it otherwise — insisting that the decision represents exactly the sort of precedent-bucking judicial activism that Roberts and Alito rejected in sworn testimony during their confirmation hearings.

Referring to the memorable analogy in which Roberts compared himself to a baseball umpire, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told POLITICO this week, “He’s not somebody who just measures balls and strikes. It’s been the most activist court that I’ve seen in my 17 years in the committee.”

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Roberts in particular “totally misrepresented himself” in testifying about upholding precedent.

In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmanhttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/32200/34918466/SIG=11memh0s7.r{}