Legal Commentary

Ceding Control of the Courts to the Radical Right

By Jeralyn

Today I remembered this blogger conference call with Sen. Charles Schumer in 2005 over President Bush's judicial nominees.

Sen. Schumer was emphatic in his remarks to us. He said the hard right, both economic and religious, has decided that the only way to push their agenda through is to control the courts. If they win and gain control of the courts, both economically and socially, they will roll back America to the 1930's or the 1890's.

He said that the hard right made a deal with George Bush during the election. It would support him and "not hound him", but he had to cede control of his judicial nominations to the Federalist Society.

That's the reward (in addition to enthusiastically supporting his election) I would bet the radical right is offering John McCain. When you see reports of his campaign coffers growing due to Gov. Palin, the picture comes into closer focus. [More...]

The radical right dumped Bush over the Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court (which I supported.) She wasn't sufficiently anti-choice.

They believe it will be different with McCain/Palin. If they win him the election, he will owe them their desired judicial picks. And having been burned by Bush over Harriet Miers, they will be smarter about extracting their quid pro quo this time.

Gov. Palin is but a pawn. But she's a dangerous one for our constitutional democracy, as I wrote here.

Regardless of who you supported in the Democratic primaries, or whether you are independent and stayed out of it, if you don't want James Dobson, Focus on the Family and other extremist evangelical groups dictating the replacement of retiring Supreme Court justices and jeopardizing your freedom and constitutional rights and those of your children for the next 30 years, do your part. Support the Democratic ticket.

Any Republican would be bad for health insurance, jobs, social security, war, the economy, the environment and criminal justice reform. But John McCain's sell-out to the extremist fundamentalists he once distanced himself from -- the same groups who opposed his candidacy prior to his Palin pick -- threatens the core of our constitutional democracy.

McCain likely won't be around in 10 years to witness the lasting damage his deal with the devil brought to our country. But many of us and our children will be.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 05, 2008 (boomark / email).