Roberts v. Snowe

The Senate has taken to reviewing any past writings of potential nominees in recent decades. I believe the first high profile example was when William Rehnquist was nominated in 1972. Opposition to his nomination went so far as to review briefing notes he wrote as a law clerk for Associate Justice Robert Jackson in the early 1950's. Since then this practice has continued whenever a potentially conservative nominee is submitted to go through the senate's advise and consent process. In digging through memos written by current nominee John Roberts a real gem was found. He made rather snide remarks about a very stupid proposal by three female congresswomen, one of whom is now a senator (Olympia Snowe, RINO-ME). He basically slammed their idea as being out of the Communist Manifesto.

"I honestly find it troubling that three Republican representatives are so quick to embrace such a radical redistributive concept," Judge Roberts wrote to Mr. Fielding a few weeks later, on February 20. Judge Roberts, who was 29 at the time, even suggested the congresswomen, Ms. Snowe, Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, might be Marxists. "Their slogan may as well be 'From each according to his ability, to each according to her gender,'" Judge Roberts quipped.