Locke and Load

Roberts Confirmation

The power of the Federal Government (and I mean all three branches) has become so overarching that everything is a political issue - even natural disasters. The Roberts confirmation to the Supreme Court is also a political issue. Even though the court, and the judicial branch as a whole, was created to be insulated from political pressures. However, the left has used the courts to advance parts of their agenda that they cannot get passed through federal or state legislatures. Therefore, any appointment is highly political.

It is my belief that judges should be confirmed based on qualifications alone, not on any forecasting on how they might rule on specific, or even general, questions before the court. To realize how far we have gone consider these excerpts from one story on the judiciary committee's vote on Roberts:

"I think he has a real sense for building consensus," said
Specter.

Biden said while he did not doubt Roberts' qualifications for the job, as a representative of the American people he could not vote for Roberts without knowing more about his stance on the right to privacy.

"I knew as little about what Judge Roberts really thought about issues after the hearings as I did before the hearing. This makes it very hard for me," she [Feinstein] said.

"It may turn out that he will be an outstanding chief justice but I can't say with confidence that I know on a sufficient number of constitutional issues how he will rule or what his position is," said the former presidential hopeful [Kerry]. "I still find that something essential is missing - a genuine exchange of information and exchange of ideas."

So, this is where we have come. A Supreme Court Justice must build consensus? He must have stances on issues, and be open to an exchange of ideas? What ever happened to interpreting and applying the law?

posted by The Man @ 10:04 AM