Last night, Sixth Circuit Judge Chad Readler appeared at an American University Washington College of Law event. The former acting chief of the DOJ Civil Division spoke to Federalist Society students about the role of DOJ in “Defending Presidential Priorities.” It’s a subject he can certainly speak to based on his experience — even if the first Trump administration maintained the appearance of a Justice Department beholden to the government and the Constitution as opposed to its now explicit mission as Trump’s personal lawyers. But SHOULD a sitting federal judge be speaking to this subject?
Probably not. On the other hand, it’s nice to get a little transparency. He’s writing the same opinion either way. If he wants to create a paper trail to undermine America’s flagging faith in judicial independence so he can enjoy a weekend in D.C., then have at it.
But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Come on FedSoc… it’s time to let go of the Chick-fil-A thing.
Every. Single. Time.
Look, we get it. You’re unrepentant bigots and you want to make that as obvious as possible. It gnaws at you that liberal groups can signal their sympathies by offering cuisine from one of the countless cultures your intellectual heroes work so hard to demonize. Chick-fil-A has given you so many golden moments to “own the libs” at the expense of functional arteries.
But it’s time to face reality. Chick-fil-A’s turn as the go-to gay bashing totem was like, 13 years ago. The history is a little more complex, but essentially the company’s leadership expressed their opposition to gay rights, Mike Huckabee made it a rallying cry for conservatives to flock to the fast food joint as the world’s goofiest performative protest against equality, and right-wingers have — literally and figuratively — eaten it up ever since.
Indeed, we’re 11 years removed from a post on this very site about the Federalist Society going all in on Chick-fil-A. Over a decade ago, there remained a modestly colorable defense that students weren’t trolling. I didn’t buy this argument even then:
It is true that marriage equality is probably coming sooner rather than later. But just like winning the Civil War or winning WWII didn’t rob the symbols of the opposing ideologies of their power, marriage equality doesn’t make it cool to gin up business by embracing anti-gay populace who rally around your product.
Again, eating Chick-fil-A is a political statement — even if it’s a statement that you’ve decided not to care. Sometimes there are issues bigger than whether or not something is tasty.
The problem with running the same joke into the ground is that it’s lost most of its punch. It’s predictable to the point it often passes without comment and half the liberals you’re trying to own only know the chain from its “our customers have DISTURBINGLY close relationships with our drive-through tellers” commercials.
Would you delegate the watershed moment of your life to Burger King? I THINK NOT! What about handing your pregnancy over to Five Guys? Wait… maybe don’t answer that one.
It just smacks of pathetically clinging to a conservative cultural moment that happened when you were in third grade.
Hell, a Chick-fil-A order isn’t even a right-wing purity test anymore! MIKE HUCKABEE — who started all this — hates Chick-fil-A now because the company embraced the verboten “DEI” concept. Apparently its disdain doesn’t carry over to a large enough cohort of minorities for some.
We understand that it’s a point of personal pride (oops, wrong word for you all… “honor”) to make these little jabs in all your announcements, but Chick-fil-A isn’t where it’s at anymore. Try something new that gets the same point across. Like:
I mean, come on! Get creative! There are so many patently offensive options you can try that are sure to keep you ostracized by polite law school society. Hand out MAGA hats or something. It’s far more culturally relevant to 2025 than rehashing 2012’s dankest Fox News memes.
Or you could try being normal for a change.
Earlier: Is It Ever OK To Serve Chick-Fil-A? An ATL Debate
Yale Law Students: ‘Maybe Don’t Invite FedSoc To Parties.’ Right Wing: ‘Doxx ‘Em And Snitch To Employers’
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Dear Federalist Society: It’s Time To Lay Off The Chick-Fil-A appeared first on Above the Law.
Last night, Sixth Circuit Judge Chad Readler appeared at an American University Washington College of Law event. The former acting chief of the DOJ Civil Division spoke to Federalist Society students about the role of DOJ in “Defending Presidential Priorities.” It’s a subject he can certainly speak to based on his experience — even if the first Trump administration maintained the appearance of a Justice Department beholden to the government and the Constitution as opposed to its now explicit mission as Trump’s personal lawyers. But SHOULD a sitting federal judge be speaking to this subject?
Probably not. On the other hand, it’s nice to get a little transparency. He’s writing the same opinion either way. If he wants to create a paper trail to undermine America’s flagging faith in judicial independence so he can enjoy a weekend in D.C., then have at it.
But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Come on FedSoc… it’s time to let go of the Chick-fil-A thing.
Every. Single. Time.
Look, we get it. You’re unrepentant bigots and you want to make that as obvious as possible. It gnaws at you that liberal groups can signal their sympathies by offering cuisine from one of the countless cultures your intellectual heroes work so hard to demonize. Chick-fil-A has given you so many golden moments to “own the libs” at the expense of functional arteries.
But it’s time to face reality. Chick-fil-A’s turn as the go-to gay bashing totem was like, 13 years ago. The history is a little more complex, but essentially the company’s leadership expressed their opposition to gay rights, Mike Huckabee made it a rallying cry for conservatives to flock to the fast food joint as the world’s goofiest performative protest against equality, and right-wingers have — literally and figuratively — eaten it up ever since.
Indeed, we’re 11 years removed from a post on this very site about the Federalist Society going all in on Chick-fil-A. Over a decade ago, there remained a modestly colorable defense that students weren’t trolling. I didn’t buy this argument even then:
It is true that marriage equality is probably coming sooner rather than later. But just like winning the Civil War or winning WWII didn’t rob the symbols of the opposing ideologies of their power, marriage equality doesn’t make it cool to gin up business by embracing anti-gay populace who rally around your product.
Again, eating Chick-fil-A is a political statement — even if it’s a statement that you’ve decided not to care. Sometimes there are issues bigger than whether or not something is tasty.
The problem with running the same joke into the ground is that it’s lost most of its punch. It’s predictable to the point it often passes without comment and half the liberals you’re trying to own only know the chain from its “our customers have DISTURBINGLY close relationships with our drive-through tellers” commercials.
Would you delegate the watershed moment of your life to Burger King? I THINK NOT! What about handing your pregnancy over to Five Guys? Wait… maybe don’t answer that one.
It just smacks of pathetically clinging to a conservative cultural moment that happened when you were in third grade.
Hell, a Chick-fil-A order isn’t even a right-wing purity test anymore! MIKE HUCKABEE — who started all this — hates Chick-fil-A now because the company embraced the verboten “DEI” concept. Apparently its disdain doesn’t carry over to a large enough cohort of minorities for some.
We understand that it’s a point of personal pride (oops, wrong word for you all… “honor”) to make these little jabs in all your announcements, but Chick-fil-A isn’t where it’s at anymore. Try something new that gets the same point across. Like:
I mean, come on! Get creative! There are so many patently offensive options you can try that are sure to keep you ostracized by polite law school society. Hand out MAGA hats or something. It’s far more culturally relevant to 2025 than rehashing 2012’s dankest Fox News memes.
Or you could try being normal for a change.
Earlier: Is It Ever OK To Serve Chick-Fil-A? An ATL Debate
Yale Law Students: ‘Maybe Don’t Invite FedSoc To Parties.’ Right Wing: ‘Doxx ‘Em And Snitch To Employers’
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
