While all the putrid Republican conduct was playing itself out during the Bush years, the Democrats and most Americans appeared to be virtually unaware of how the Grand Ol’ Party was doing its most serious damage. The GOP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce knew where they could do the most harm to democracy and, at the same time, improve the balance sheets for their corporate pals.
They could accomplish both of those goals in the Court system – the civil justice system where judges are often the last line in the sand when it comes to protecting Americans from the type of reckless criminal conduct that the Bush Republicans carried out for 8 dark years. While Americans were distracted trying to figure out where the Hell the WMDs were, the Republicans were packing the federal trial courts and appellate courts from the bottom up. Not with talented experienced jurists, but with political hacks who had proven their commitment to right wing ideology completely enough that they were rewarded with a black robe and a federal courtroom gavel.
