Conservatives criticize UN declaration

I knew conservatives wouldn't like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Now they're starting to come out of the woodwork.

Obama's Reversal on 'Indigenous Peoples' Rights Stirs Concern Over Legal Claims

By Judson BergerJohn Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the "abstract" document--which in several sections discusses the "right to redress"--will probably be used to fuel new legal claims. And he predicted the issue would complicate those cases more than it would help either side actually resolve them.

"It's a kind of feel-good document that has so many unclear phrases in it that nobody's really sure what it means when you agree to it," Bolton told FoxNews.com. "It's wrong and potentially dangerous to sign onto a document that you don't fully understand the implications of."And:Bolton said plaintiffs will surely try to use this document in court, though it's not supposed to carry the weight of law.

"Hopefully most judges will say it's not binding," he said. "But there are enough judges who couldn't care less about strictly applying the law."Yes, and many of those judges are conservative activists like the ones who dominate the Supreme Court.

More carping conservatives:Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who has been particularly critical of the Pigford claims process, expressed concern about the potential implications of the U.N. document on indigenous peoples. He said he's curious what "special rights" the document could convey.

Carl Horowitz, a project manager with the National Legal and Policy Center who follows discrimination cases against the federal government, used the r-word--reparations--to describe those implications.

"It reflects a global egalitarianism," he said. "It's a shakedown."Comment:  "Global egalitarianism" is the opposite of the status quo, I presume: a plutocracy maintained by free-market fundamentalists to enrich themselves and their cronies.

I expect Limbaugh, Beck, et al. to latch onto this issue eventually. I imagine they haven't yet because they haven't heard about the declaration yet.

For more on the subject, see UN Declaration "Could Wreak Havoc" and UN Declaration = Status Quo.