The election and the Supreme Court

Ive read a bunch of the election posts and I feel compelled to post about what I think is the most imp issue in the election - The US Supreme Court!
It is very likely that anywhere from 2 to 4 SC justices will retire in the next 4 years - having a huge effect on the laws of this nation and our fundamental rights as citizens. If you are concerned about these issues as I am heres some info I thought you might find informative compliments of the Wash Post:
If George W. Bush is re-elected and the seats of Justices O'Connor and Stevens open on the Supreme Court, constitutional decrees in pivotal areas concerning presidential war powers, church-state relations, freedom of speech, the death penalty, the powers of the police and prosecutors, racial, ethnic and gender discrimination and private property will display a markedly more conservative hue consistent with the judicial role envisioned by the Founding Fathers. And that judicial modesty should persist indefinitely.
On the other hand, Mr. Kerry defeats Mr. Bush and gets to fill Supreme Court openings, there is a strong probability constitutional law will echo the latest slabs of sociological and moral thinking prevalent in academic and media circles. Same-sex marriage will probably be declared a constitutional right; the use of 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance will be held an affront to religious neutrality; and racial and ethnic group rights will be recognized as superior to a society in which the content of an individual's character rather than the accident of skin color fixes his destiny.

Re: The election and the Supreme Court

The day I discovered that there was a possibility that 4 SC seats could open was the day I really decided who I was voting for. I agree with you that this is a very important matter to consider.

Re: The election and the Supreme Court

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Posted by MegLehner

Ive read a bunch of the election posts and I feel compelled to post about what I think is the most imp issue in the election - The US Supreme Court!
It is very likely that anywhere from 2 to 4 SC justices will retire in the next 4 years - having a huge effect on the laws of this nation and our fundamental rights as citizens. If you are concerned about these issues as I am heres some info I thought you might find informative compliments of the Wash Post:
If George W. Bush is re-elected and the seats of Justices O'Connor and Stevens open on the Supreme Court, constitutional decrees in pivotal areas concerning presidential war powers, church-state relations, freedom of speech, the death penalty, the powers of the police and prosecutors, racial, ethnic and gender discrimination and private property will display a markedly more conservative hue consistent with the judicial role envisioned by the Founding Fathers. And that judicial modesty should persist indefinitely.
On the other hand, Mr. Kerry defeats Mr. Bush and gets to fill Supreme Court openings, there is a strong probability constitutional law will echo the latest slabs of sociological and moral thinking prevalent in academic and media circles. Same-sex marriage will probably be declared a constitutional right; the use of 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance will be held an affront to religious neutrality; and racial and ethnic group rights will be recognized as superior to a society in which the content of an individual's character rather than the accident of skin color fixes his destiny.

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Same sex marriage cannot be declared a constitutional right unless the Constitution is amended. The Supreme Court- no matter how liberal or how conservative- cannot legislate. That is up to Congress with ratification from the states. They can, however, say that same sex marriage is afforded equal protection under the law and the Constitution, by probably using article XIV.

I personally think that while the founding fathers of this nation did have vision for this country- obviously it wasn't 100% perfect- and the beauty of it was they KNEW that and they made an outlet for our government to change... or adapt... or even, Flip Flop!! That's how we were able to have:

The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery
The 15th Amendment, allowing the right to vote for those not white... (basically former slaves).
The 19th Amendment, givihg women the right to vote.
The 26th Amendment, giving people 18+ years old the right to vote..

All those rights weren't there when America was founded- but the founding fathers realized they weren't omipotent- that things might need to change as our nation matured- and I think that's a great thing.

So I don't necessarily think that legislating and adjudicating based on what the 'founding fathers wanted' is really what the founding fathers wanted- or else they wouldn't have given us the opportunity to change and adapt.

Re: The election and the Supreme Court

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Posted by Sassyz75

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Posted by MegLehner

Ive read a bunch of the election posts and I feel compelled to post about what I think is the most imp issue in the election - The US Supreme Court!
It is very likely that anywhere from 2 to 4 SC justices will retire in the next 4 years - having a huge effect on the laws of this nation and our fundamental rights as citizens. If you are concerned about these issues as I am heres some info I thought you might find informative compliments of the Wash Post:
If George W. Bush is re-elected and the seats of Justices O'Connor and Stevens open on the Supreme Court, constitutional decrees in pivotal areas concerning presidential war powers, church-state relations, freedom of speech, the death penalty, the powers of the police and prosecutors, racial, ethnic and gender discrimination and private property will display a markedly more conservative hue consistent with the judicial role envisioned by the Founding Fathers. And that judicial modesty should persist indefinitely.
On the other hand, Mr. Kerry defeats Mr. Bush and gets to fill Supreme Court openings, there is a strong probability constitutional law will echo the latest slabs of sociological and moral thinking prevalent in academic and media circles. Same-sex marriage will probably be declared a constitutional right; the use of 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance will be held an affront to religious neutrality; and racial and ethnic group rights will be recognized as superior to a society in which the content of an individual's character rather than the accident of skin color fixes his destiny.

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Same sex marriage cannot be declared a constitutional right unless the Constitution is amended. The Supreme Court- no matter how liberal or how conservative- cannot legislate. That is up to Congress with ratification from the states. They can, however, say that same sex marriage is afforded equal protection under the law and the Constitution, by probably using article XIV.

I personally think that while the founding fathers of this nation did have vision for this country- obviously it wasn't 100% perfect- and the beauty of it was they KNEW that and they made an outlet for our government to change... or adapt... or even, Flip Flop!! That's how we were able to have:

The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery
The 15th Amendment, allowing the right to vote for those not white... (basically former slaves).
The 19th Amendment, givihg women the right to vote.
The 26th Amendment, giving people 18+ years old the right to vote..

All those rights weren't there when America was founded- but the founding fathers realized they weren't omipotent- that things might need to change as our nation matured- and I think that's a great thing.

So I don't necessarily think that legislating and adjudicating based on what the 'founding fathers wanted' is really what the founding fathers wanted- or else they wouldn't have given us the opportunity to change and adapt.

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The supreme court cannot amend the constitution - but what they can do is declare that homosexual have a fundamental right to marry, therefore making all states recognize gay marriage. Additionally, the supreme court can afford homosexuals the same suspect classification that other minorities enjoy therefore making it a violation of the equal protection clause for states to allow staight couples to marry while homosexual couples may not.
My fear is that if Bush is re elected he would nominate conservative justices - stripping us (especially women & minorities) of fundamental rights. The justices that Bush has suggested are textualist - who read the constitution as a static document. Kerry would nominate contextualists - who will read the constitution as a living document that must change as our country changes. Plus Bush has stated that he plans on having Clarence Thomas be Chief Justice - And that is just plain scary!

Re: The election and the Supreme Court

Very important issue.

Re: The election and the Supreme Court

I agree.
That's really the most important issue to me!