Or… The Hypocrisy of the Right
Tort Reform – or, as lawyers who represent people like to call it – “tort de-form” – is a popular harping point for the right. It’s one of their “go to” moves. Like being anti-abortion, anti-evolution, anti-environment, anti-business regulation… anti-common sense and anti-people.
The idea of tort deform is to change the way individuals hold others accountable for wrongdoing, and how compensation works. The tort deform movement – a product of an unholy alliance which goes back to the Federal Chamber of Commerce and the Justice Department under Ronald Reagan – seeks to tip the balance in the law and in the courts more in favor of business and big pharma, banking and insurance than it already is. The idea is to block suits, limit damages, and, in general, make it easier for those to do wrong to get away with it.
What are some of the items on the tort deform letter to Santa?
Well, let’s start with punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish – to “make an example” of – the wrongdoer. As well, punitive damages are meant to deter further wrongful conduct of the type that got you slapped in the first place.
So why did I mention Ted Cruz? Cause he’s a hypocrite, of course. And his hypocrisy happens to involve his love affair with big tort deform on the one hand, and his disingenuous – hypocritical – utilization of the very laws he says he wants to change when it suits him.
Mr. Cruz was a lawyer in a private practice. He worked on cases that awarded $50 million + in jury trials in tort cases prompted by corporate malfeasance.
That was Ted Cruz the lawyer. But Ted Cruz the politician talks all kinds of garbage about tort deform and the poor, poor corporations, and banks, and insurance companies.
Thus, “hypocrite.” Which is another way of being a liar, by the bye.
People? What people? He doesn’t see people. He sees voters. Stupid voters, if they don’t call him to account for this before they cast their vote.
When you limit damages – when you “cap” them – you send the wrong message to those who do harm. I’m talking to you sensible people now, by the way, not the wing-nuts. You send the message that harm is just a cost of doing business – a controllable cost. Cruz knows this, but he doesn’t care anymore, because it’s not convenient.
But you should know. You should ask him.
