Posted on 07/04/2018 6:24:02 AM PDT by Kaslin
Democrats are in a state of sheer panic.
They're panicking because last week, Justice Anthony Kennedy -- a reliable vote in favor of certain leftist priorities including abortion and same-sex marriage -- announced that he will step down from the Supreme Court, leaving President Trump a second selection. This apparently will lead to the end of a free America. According to Jeffrey Toobin of CNN, the remade Supreme Court will spell doom: "Abortion illegal, doctors prosecuted, gay people barred from restaurants, hotels, stores; African-Americans out of elite schools, gun control banned in 50 states, the end of regulatory state."
None of this is true, of course. It simply demonstrates the wild overreach to which the left has subjected the judicial branch to date.
The judicial branch was never meant to act as a superlegislature, using the verbiage of the Constitution in order to implement preferred policy prescriptions. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton expressed the idea well: "The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body." Substituting will for judgment would make the case for utterly dissolving the judicial branch.
Yet, according to the Democrats, the Supreme Court should exercise will instead of judgment. The role of the court, according to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, is to help expedite change in our society: "Our society would be strait-jacketed were not the courts, with the able assistance of the lawyers, constantly overhauling the law and adapting it to the realities of ever-changing social, industrial and political conditions." Justice Elena Kagan believes the same thing, which is why she constantly describes the Constitution as "abstract," leaving her room to interpret it as poetry rather than statute.
This is why Democrats celebrate obviously superlegal decisions like Roe v. Wade: There is no right to abortion in the Constitution, but they would prefer not to battle that issue out at the electoral level. The Supreme Court allows them to hand down their policy from the mountaintop without having to subject those policies to public scrutiny.
And that means that any reversal of such policy by a Supreme Court that actually reads the Constitution as it was written, is a threat to Democratic hegemony. Were President Trump to appoint an originalist to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade would surely die, but that wouldn't make abortion illegal -- the issue would have to be put before the American public. Affirmative action from state schools would end, but African-Americans wouldn't be barred from attending elite institutions -- such a bar would remain illegal. Gays across the country would not suddenly find themselves barred from public restaurants -- it's unlikely the Supreme Court would rule such action legal, and even if it were to do so, virtually no establishments across the country would start asking about sexual orientation at the door.
This is why Democrats celebrate obviously superlegal decisions like Roe v. Wade: There is no right to abortion in the Constitution, but they would prefer not to battle that issue out at the electoral level. The Supreme Court allows them to hand down their policy from the mountaintop without having to subject those policies to public scrutiny.
And that means that any reversal of such policy by a Supreme Court that actually reads the Constitution as it was written, is a threat to Democratic hegemony. Were President Trump to appoint an originalist to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade would surely die, but that wouldn't make abortion illegal -- the issue would have to be put before the American public. Affirmative action from state schools would end, but African-Americans wouldn't be barred from attending elite institutions -- such a bar would remain illegal. Gays across the country would not suddenly find themselves barred from public restaurants -- it's unlikely the Supreme Court would rule such action legal, and even if it were to do so, virtually no establishments across the country would start asking about sexual orientation at the door.
How the revolution is procured is all that matters to the left. If the courts procure it, power to the courts; if the administrative procures it, power to the administrative; if it takes massacres, then massacre. The issue is always the revolution.
They fear “gay people barred from restaurants”.
As well they should. If I recall it was “Gay employees” who voted that Sanders should be kicked out of a restaurant.
The Judiciary is the weak link in our constitutional system. Amendments should be passed reining it in. SCOTUS should stick to deciding the constitutionality of cases before it; nothing else.
Courts need to get out of ordering remedies they have no business forcing on the people. They usurp the Legislatures when they do so. Legislatures (Congress) should hit back!
When Ginsberg leaves, one way or another, that will make a difference.
gun control banned in 50 states
Kennedy was a reliable 2A supporter. I don’t want that changed.
There have been “conservative” courts over the decades yet abortion is still legal.
The other predictions are simply absurd. I thought Toobin
Was smarter than that.
Great point and bears repeating. Recent history with district judges issuing orders across the entire country must not only be reined in BUT those doing it should be removed from the bench. District rulings used to only be binding in that appellate circuit but lately we have had a spate of rulings from the kingdom of Hawaii that have been so far removed from reality to as well as have been from the moon.
I guess Toobin has forgotten it was conservative courts that have given people, including blacks, the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.
LOL
Toobin forgot to mention that Progressives will be clubbed like baby Harp seals...
Yes, but what would be the downside?!
“Abortion illegal, doctors prosecuted, gay people barred from restaurants, hotels, stores; African-Americans out of elite schools, gun control banned in 50 states, the end of regulatory state,...
...human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!”
This apparently will lead to the end of a free America
Patent Bull$hit!
The leftist agenda is not supported by the majority; they need the courts to impose unpopular ideas.
“”gay people barred from restaurants””
In the dem’s world, only conservatives/Republicans would be barred from restaurants or barred from FREE SPEECH!
And this is where corruption comes in. Congress only cares about feathering their nest. Which means all they care about is staying in office. Which means they are risk averse. They dont want to rock the boat.
They abdicate much of their authority because it would mean rocking the boat if they exercised. And they are too busy feathering their nest.
So we end up with a namby pamby Congress afraid of its own shadow.
The LEFT fears Roe v Wade being overturned because it is grossly unconstitutional and they know it.
Don’t tell me President Trump should choose and nominate a supreme court justice for replacement of Kennedy, but that is not the only one that is important, we don’t need one that is wishy washy. We need one for our site, and Kennedy surely wasn’t
gun control banned in 50 states
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That would restoring the Constitution.
“shall not be infringed” means just that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.