Yes, Richard Posner Is a Clown. Why Do You Ask?
Clown:
Kay: Judge Posner recants the recant on voter ID:
Says it was out of context. Read his explanation yourself and see what you think.
Here’s the reporter’s reaction:
Mike SacksVerified account@MikeSacksHP: Aw Judge, no @huffpostlive #Legalese It link? Richard Posner: I Did Not Recant My Opinion on Voter ID @tnr http://feedly.com/k/1dfgdHG
Mike SacksVerified account@MikeSacksHP: Let’s go to the tape. Cut to 9:04: http://huff.lv/GJHJS0 via @HuffPostLive #LegaleseIt!
Indeed:
Mike Sacks: Do you think you and the court got this one wrong?
Richard Posner: Yes, absolutely...
Richard Posner: I Did Not Recant My Opinion on Voter ID:
I have been a federal court of appeals judge since 1981, and over this extended period I have become acutely conscious of certain deficiencies of the federal judiciary.... To my considerable surprise, one sentence—I should have thought it entirely innocuous—in the book has received unusual attention in the media and blogs, much of it critical. The sentence runs from the bottom of page 84 to the top of page 85, in a chapter entitled “The Challenge of Complexity.” The sentence reads in its entirety: “I plead guilty to having written the majority opinion (affirmed by the Supreme Court) upholding Indiana’s requirement that prospective voters prove their identity with a photo ID—a type of law now widely regarded as a means of voter suppression rather than of fraud prevention.”... I did not say that my decision, and the Supreme Court’s decision affirming it (written, be it noted, by the notably liberal Justice Stevens), were wrong, only that, in common with many other judges, I could not be confident that it was right...
Saying "yes, absolutely" to the question "do you think you got this one wrong?" is not saying "I only say that I cannot be confident that I got it right".
Clown.
