The big weekend headline

Caught the dueling party heads on “Meet the Press” Sunday. DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and Michael Steele, chairman of the RNC, squared off to discuss numerous issues facing both their parties and the nation. TRANSCRIPT

I am struck these days by the duplicity of Republicans as the Party’s various "leaders" desperately seek to stop its downward spiral.

On several occasions prior to November, DemWit identified the Supreme Court as a major campaign issue.

For that reason, I was bemused – and maybe a little amused – when host David Gregory asked Steele of the RNC about his recent remark to the National Rifle Association (NRA):

"Sounds like the president's been watching `Dr. Phil' too much, that's who he wants on the Supreme Court."

This, of course, was in reference to Obama’s desire for empathetic justices who understand the impact of rulings on individuals.

In a sudden epiphany, Mr. Steele tells the MTP audience what he and his party expect of the High Court:

“I need a judge who's going to take the Constitution, apply the facts, apply the law and come to a reasoned, sound judgment. I don't need a judge to look at an African-American standing before him and go off on some, you know, liberal tangent about, ‘Oh, gee, I wonder what his life was like as a child.’ I'm concerned about getting fair adjudication and jurisprudence under the law.

“And, the reality of it is this: this is an opportunity for the president to, to break this cycle that we've been in, this back and forth between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to judicial nominations. The Constitution must stand for something, it must mean something, and I think this is the appropriate time for this president to show that it has value and importance other than being empathetic.”

So, here’s the big weekend headline:

Republican Party discovers U.S. Constitution.

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For extra credit, I recommend a couple of books by two of the keenest legal minds in America:

“The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President” by Vincent Bugliosi –as he would say, “That’s boo-lee-O-see.” Bugliosi, prosecutor in the Charles Manson trial, also authored “Helter Skelter.”

“Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000” by Alan M. Dershowitz, whose defense of Claus von Bulow was the bssis for the film, "Reversal of Fortune."

Yeah, Steele, that Constitution.