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Barack Obama invades Texas courts on quest to turn Texas blue
President Barack Obama ready for a fight—Photo by Joseph Earnest
by Joseph Earnest June 27, 2014
Newscast Media WASHINGTON—Republicans own the courts in Texas. Barack Obama understands this reality. Yet when he said he was determined to turn Texas from Red to Blue it appears he wasn't playing games. He has picked the initial battlefield—the Texas courts. His goal is to populate them with as many Blue judges as possible to neutralize the potency of the Red judges, most of whom started serving as far back as the Reagan and Papa Bush eras.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is where he will run into a brick wall. The judges who sit on these benches are die-hard Conservatives. They control the show. Yet that doesn't appear to worry Obama.
In the movie Triple XXX starring Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson, the government wants to infiltrate an Eastern European anarchist group. The group is based in Prague, Czech Republic. However, the cats in Prague are too crafty even for the spy agency that is monitoring them. Diesel, who goes by the moniker "Triple X" is in trouble with the law. Samuel L. Jackson cuts a deal with him, and says he could make Triple X's record disappear, if he embarks on a mission to infiltrate the group.
The deal sounds sweet, X agrees to it after a bit of some hesitation. Jackson goes back to his boys and tells them he found the perfect candidate for the job--it's Triple X.
The crew is not pleased because Triple X isn't exactly the person they had in mind.
Jackson then asks the feds a question: "Are we ourselves going to enter that snake pit, or should we send our own snake into the snake pit?"
The moral of the quote is, let's fight fire with fire. In Texas we have a saying, "You don't bring a knife to a gun battle."
Obama has hand-picked his big guns. "Let them permeate the lower courts," Obama reasons to himself, "and even if the Democrats run into a brick wall in the Fifth Circuit, they can take it to the bridge--the Supreme Court."
There are nine justices, with John G. Roberts being the Chief Justice. The Court is usually split 4-4, and the tie-breaker or wildcard can make or break a case.
As we saw during the Obamacare court case, Obama was able to plow through the courts "caveman" style. At the Supreme Court, the justices were evenly split. Yet I've always said, that it wouldn't be surprising if Obama has dirt on John G. Roberts. Maybe a tape. Maybe photos. Nobody knows for sure. Yet when it seemed like Roberts was about to lean toward the Conservative spectrum, he must have received a package, or even a voicemail containing something that he thought nobody knew about. Perhaps a message was attached that said, "Imagine what would happen if this went public. Think about your reputation. Your family. Your legacy. Think." Perhaps that's when Roberts blinked. He thought twice about his reality, then cast the life-changing vote in favor of Democrats. Obamacare is now law.
Obama seems to know something that we do not know, hence he doesn't see the Fifth Circuit as a stumbling block. He can always send it to the Supreme Court, because the relevant players will think twice about playing hardball, given what may be at stake in their private lives and public legacies. It remains a mystery—for now.
Below are three of the four carefully-vetted nominees Obama plans to deposit into the Texas judicial system. The fourth is a New Jersey court nominee, Judge Madeline Cox Arleo.
Obama's Texas Nominees for June 26, 2014:
Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III has served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Texas since 2009. Previously, he was a Justice on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas from 2004 to 2009. From 2003 to 2004, he was Of Counsel at Wolfe, Tidwell & McCoy, LLP. Judge Mazzant served as a law clerk for Magistrate Judge Don D. Bush of the Eastern District of Texas in 2003 and for Magistrate Judge Robert Faulkner of the Eastern District of Texas from 1993 to 2003. From 1992 to 1993, he worked at the law firm Henderson Bryant & Wolfe. Judge Mazzant began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Paul Brown in the Eastern District of Texas from 1990 to 1992. He received his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1990 and his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987.
Robert Lee Pitman: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Robert Lee Pitman has served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas since 2011. He previously served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Texas from 2003 to 2011. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Pitman served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Texas from 1990 to 2003, serving as interim United States Attorney in 2001 and as Deputy United States Attorney from 2001 to 2003. He worked as an associate at the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski from 1989 to 1990 and served as a law clerk to Judge David O. Belew Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 1988 to 1989. He received his J.D. in 1988 from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.S. from Abilene Christian University in 1985. Pitman also received a Master of Studies in Legal Research degree from the University of Oxford in 2011.
Robert William Schroeder III: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Robert William Schroeder III has been a partner at the law firm Patton, Tidwell, Schroeder & Culbertson, LLP and its predecessor firm since 2003, where he handles complex civil litigation in both federal and state court. Prior to joining the firm in 1999, Schroeder served as a law clerk for Judge Richard S. Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1997 to 1999. He worked in the Office of the White House Counsel as Associate Counsel to the President in 1997 and as Assistant Counsel to the President from 1995 to 1996. Schroeder received his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in 1994 and his B.A. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1989.
The game is on, as Obama attempts the impossible, in his battle not just for Texas hearts and minds, but also its courts. All Barack Obama needs now is one more nominee in the Southern District of Texas to complete his quartet. Obama is a man on a mission. The Texas GOP can't afford to be lethargic or complacent. Not now. Remember, "He who controls the courts, controls the state."
The people may reject one's agenda, but if one is able to use the courts to legalize what has been rejected and wins his case, how can one lose, even after he fails to win the over the public? Add Comments>>
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