Neither Left Nor Right

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Sometimes you just have to scratch your head.

Nathan Koppel, in an article at the Wall Street Journal’s online site, finds it odd that a former Bush administration attorney is now in private practice arguing against a prosecutor who fabricated evidence in a murder suit. A similar piece at law.com, by Tony Mauro, proclaims that, “To Build Practice, Ex-Bush [Solicitor General] Embraces Liberal Clients.”

Now, I’m not exactly a conservative, but I make common cause with conservatives all the time. Many of my best friends are conservative, and so are some of my best ideas. So I ask you: Since when is defending a wrongfully convicted man against a lying, unjust prosecutor any more “liberal” than “conservative”?

Does conservatism really mean letting governments cook up evidence to throw innocents into prison?

No.

And yet both of these writers characterized former Solicitor General Paul Clement as somehow liberal and un-conservative for “embracing” — yes — “liberal clients.”

Well, a hug was involved. But if a lawyer ably defended you against a malign, immoral agent of the state, mightn’t you offer a hug?

Embraces aside, the issue at hand is neither conservative nor liberal. Americans — of any party — oppose injustice. Right?

Or: left?

This is not a matter of left-right disagreement. Or party politics. Or, even, America vs. other nations. It’s simple justice.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Tags conservative, justice, liberal

8 replies on “Neither Left Nor Right”

John Peter Altgeld said it best, “No man’s political ambition has the right to stand in the way of a simple act of justice.”

Mr Miller’s quote is fitting, while Mr Jacob is, as always, a fabulous read. If anyone is reading him for the first time today: yes, he’s this good on a consistent basis. In his personal column, he is mercifully brief, while in his longer TownHall.com pieces, he is mercilessly thorough.

Would that I were in a better position to make a generous donation to such a righteous man and writer. Sadly, I have a family who could enjoy much better health, which is not cheap or even reasonable, but preferable to whatever our (what would be le mot juste in this instance?)(see the urbandictionary.com for the definition of this term…and *their* definition; just so) for a bought and paid for socialist, prevaricating president surrounded by people who would more properly labor in prisons than the White House, a humongous disgrace to America, its citizens [please bear with me] EXCEPT for those who voted for this holier than thou, WEAK, undeserving scoundrel and subsequently got what they elected out of sheer ignorance and/or misplaced hero/rock star worship of a false idol…and hopefully will see the error of their ways before Nov 2010 (I’m still on those who voted for BO), by voting a straight republican ticket (except for a genuine conservative running against a republican to the left of the democrat candidate, impossible as this might seem; Joe Lieberman isn’t up for re-election, but he might be an acceptable reason to split your ticket unless the conservative were to receive the prudent nod of the Club for Growth, which offers advice in such matters which the discerning voter should heed in all cases) when the errant House will collectively face the music (in lieu of a firing squad, and a mighty big one at that) and, with God’s help, be denied an utterly inept and vile veto-proof democrat majority in both Houses of Congress, so that this chalice might pass from us as a great, Christian nation, and our political/criminal class might be cleansed and reborn as in ’94 except sans NOOT this time], (okay, back to the list of those currently afflicted, through no fault of their own, by the current occupant of the Oval Office), the French (who will need us sooner or later, despite their naked contempt for all things American; the French are optional, even marginal, except for their fries), the Polish and Czechs (may they have strength in their betrayal by the current object of my concern, a betrayal which we as Americans share; REALLY sorry, guys), all dogs, some cats (mine and a few more…but not many…uh …and a friend’s cats, too…okay, ALL conservative republican cats, but no pinkos), AND (the end is nigh) anyone old enough to remember Amos ‘n Andy, beloved of white AND black audiences (black people of my age will always smile in fond remembrance of this show), while giving black (and some white) actors and actresses an opportunity to ply their trade, something that happened rarely until The Bill Cosby Show (thanks to liberals concerned with the delicate sensibilities of blacks, who probably would have preferred Amos ‘n Andy remaining on the air), which had no faux black impersonators (Cosby, that is).

But my reason for writing is that I wanted to compliment the esteemed Mr Jacob for His subject: line, for which I had to maximize today’s (is it still today?) email column in order to read the entire line.

A new wrinkle on moi.

Thank you…and good night.

May God bless us one and all.

»Sadly, I have a family who could enjoy much better health…

This SHOULD have been followed by “AND insurance.”

Mon Dieu! Have mercy on a fool.

Buenos noches.

First, “French fries” are Belgin, not Frogs.

Second, I thught when I gradusted from HS and college that I was finished having to read intensely windt texts.

I am sure the court will determine this time the true guilty party in this if not, why we’ll just hang him and apologize to his widow. Should they determine someone’s not guilty, will our benevolent gummint give him (tax free) the money he should have been paid before the phony prosecutor ran him into the ground? What about his good name and prestige? Will they find a way to restore that, too? So far, they’ve never bothered to restore a good name to a wrongfuly convicted man.

From my perspective conservatives are not prone to want anynone wrongfully convicted. Nifong was a democrat who only went down hard because he had defendants that had the bucks for a good defense. Any prosecutor that fabricates evidence to ding any defendant needs to be taken care of. That is he needs to become a defendant.

Hank (completely off topic; you needn’t read this):

Following 9/11, fries were Freedom, neither French nor Belgin. However, point taken.

This was a one off, really; I am not usually quite so verbose. However, as a boring old phart (hmmm, spell check has the correct spelling for this, but flags Obama), I enjoyed the act of writing and a few things I learned (or relearned, for some terms that didn’t spring to mind; downing a couple of brews at the time wasn’t exactly a memory booster) in the process.

I find it ironic that dems are once again accusing republicans of McCarthyism, as McCarthy was right: there WERE commies in the State Dept then… and now they’re in the White House as well, not exactly original to B “Lé’stat c’est moi” O. WW II era White House advisers included a few pinkos, too. Life is a learning process, one of life’s most rewarding aspects. C’est no?

Actually, I was finishing up for the day, but found my wife asleep on the couch, while I had nothing better to do than otherwise entertain myself. I’ve made a small contribution to the cause here by way of atonement.

I like what President Reagan said.
“You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well, I would like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down: Man’s old-age dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order; or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.”

When evidence is made up, even for a good cause, it’s a downward course.