So sue me

In all likelihood, Dick Cheney will attempt to turn attention away from his record of cutting military budgets and failing to take out Hussein as defense secretary, violating tax laws and overseeing disastrous acquisitions as CEO of Halliburton, and secrecy and lies as Vice-President when he meets John Edwards in "debate" tomorrow night. He'll do that, in part I would expect, by focusing on John Edwards's career as a highly successful trial lawyer and argue that it's people like Edwards who are bringing this great country down with their frivolous, ambulance-chasin' lawsuits.

Hopefully John has read this new report from Public Citizen.

Business lobbyists and their political allies have created a perception that America’s legal system has run amok. They point the finger at consumer and patient lawsuits, which they imply are concocted by “greedy trial lawyers.” They argue that lawsuits have detrimental effects on society and the economy, and effectively suggest that people should turn the other cheek when their rights are violated. President Bush and Vice President Cheney mimic these erroneous claims and make attacks on the legal system a central part of their campaign stump speeches. “See, everybody is getting sued,” says the President, and the lawsuits are “junk and frivolous.”

But Public Citizen’s examination of public records finds that for the most part it is businesses rather than consumers and their lawyers doing the suing, and that businesses are far more often guilty of filing frivolous pleadings than the trial lawyers they demonize.

In fact, businesses file four times as many lawsuits as individuals, and are more likely to be charged with filing frivolous suits. The report lists dozens of suits filed by businees that are so frivolous as to be ludicrous.

Oh, and Dick Cheney? While CEO, Halliburton filed 150 separate lawsuits.

So for the White House and Congress, it's okay for business to file suits rampantly. And it's okay for those self same businesses to help write the legislation making it not okay for citizens to try to protect their rights against corporations.