One thing I have yet to hear discussed in this election is what will happen to the Supreme Court with the next president, and it's not a topic to be
taken lightly when choosing who you're going to vote for this November. Remember that the president appoints the justices and that might be a problem
for those of us who like the checks and balances that our constitution details.
I know that the judges are appointed for life but two of them are about as old as dirt, and a few others are getting there. There were rumors in 2004
of a few who wanted to retire but once Bush won the election they decided to stay on (thank God). They probably would die fighting rather than give
Bush the chance to elect a justice that would enable him to further his shredding of our constitution and rights as human beings (let alone citizens
of the United States).
And this year, legal analysts say that three of the justices are expected to retire within the next four years, John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, and David Souter, the three more liberal members of the Supreme Court. That means should John McCain be elected and replace a sitting
liberal justice with a conservative justice, the balance of power on the court could shift decisively to the right on issues like abortion,
affirmative action and the death penalty. I don't like the sound of that.
I know a lot of those who are going to read this are conservatives and anti-liberals. I'm just thinking about the increasing and ever-widening
control the office of the president has taken over the other branches of government, threatening our rights and freedoms.
You could argue that the same could be true if Barack Obama gets elected, but his view of the judicial branch is fundamentally different from John
McCain's. (Obama said this:
"The most important thing in any judge is their capacity to provide fairness and justice to protect the disadvantaged
and the weak against the powerful.", and I trust that he would use this ideology when choosing a judge, while McCain promised to elect
conservatives). Besides I would be much more afraid of a conservative republican controlled Supreme Court than a liberal one. Maybe it's just because
of my political views, but I feel that conservatives threaten my rights significantly more than liberals. The past eight years haven't really helped
with that fear.
Thank God for the Senate! (Although they didn't really work in that department when Bush was appointing his ultra-conservative justices in 2000 and
2004...; And let's not forget about the unheard of use of filibusters by a republican minority in senate in years)
If you don't agree, I suggest you read
this articleand
this statistical study, written by William Landes and Richard Posner.
[edit on 28-10-2008 by Shocka]
Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.
[edit on 29-10-2008 by Gemwolf]