“Remember boys, we’re all Democrats”

A former court of appeals judge, now deceased, used to tell the story of the meeting he had with President Lyndon Johnson after his confirmation by Congress. Johnson met not only with this judge, but with several others who had just been confirmed.

Johnson’s performance, colorful and profane, gave rise to several priceless anecdotes. The most telling was Johnson’s parting words. According to this former judge, he said: “Remember boys, we’re all Democrats.”

Johnson understood the considerable extent to which law is politics by other means. His own experiences with federal judges, some of which he reportedly referred to obliquely in his meeting with the newly confirmed jurists, had taught him that.

These days, federal judges are more political than ever. President Obama will not need to remind judges Millett, Pillard, and Wilkins — the trio whose placement on the crucial D.C. Circuit caused Harry Reid, on Obama’s behalf, to do away with the filibustering of such nominees — that they are all Democrats.

They understand their partisan status, and realize that their mission is to help Obama (in his words) “remake the courts” into a tool through which he can accomplish much of his stalled left-wing agenda.

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