[aageneral] The Future of America

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Title: The Future of America
Author: Jan A. Larson
Word count: 806
Copyright: (c) 2005 All rights reserved.

The Future of America

By Jan A. Larson

The Supreme Court decision in the Kelo v. City of New London
case and the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor provide
both the reason and opportunity for the President to nominate
and Senate Republicans (and fair-minded Democrats, if there are
any of them anymore) to confirm a true constitutional
constructionist to the Court.

The Kelo case, which has been the subject of numerous
editorials in the past week, is possibly one of the most egregious
rulings to be handed down by the Supreme Court since the 1857
Dred Scott decision.

The Court's decision in that case excised a major portion of the
Fifth Amendment just as the decision affirming the
constitutionality of the McCain-Feingold restrictions on
campaign speech was a body blow to the First Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law � abridging the freedom
of speech."

"� nor shall private property be taken for public use
without just compensation."

One doesn't need a black robe to understand the literal meanings
and a cursory knowledge of early American history provides
enough insight into the Framers' intent that the First and Fifth
Amendments should rarely, if ever, become the subject of a case
before the Supreme Court. Yet this Court effectively amended
the Constitution from the bench in a manner that would leave the
Framers rolling in their graves by finding a way to extract an
otherwise hidden meaning in both cases.

The pronouncements of the Supreme Court, no matter how
outrageous or contrary to the written word of the Constitution
can and do shape the nation for generations; witness the decision
in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case that upheld the doctrine of
"separate but equal." Plessy remained the law of the land until
reversed in 1954 by the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
Fifty-eight years of legalized segregation.

Possibly the most contentious decision ever handed down was in
the case of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions. Roe
remains the law of the land. Millions of lives have been changed
forever and millions more lost before their first breath as a
result. Thirty-two years, and counting, of misery and death.

Make no mistake; the nine Supreme Court justices are the most
powerful people in the country. Individual justices routinely
serve anywhere from 15 to 30 or more years, are not accountable
to the voters and their decisions may endure for decades.

As a nation that respects and upholds the rule of law, that law
must be absolute and predictable to be effective. Rulings that
consider "evolving standards" and "international opinion"
undermine the rule of law. The rule of law ultimately emanates
from the Constitution and that must be the written word of the
Constitution, not the whims of just five unaccountable justices
twisting the meaning of the written word to fit their political or
social ideology.

Ideally Supreme Court rulings would be unworthy of headlines,
buried in the public announcement section of your local
newspaper. Except in the most contentious of cases, the well-
informed citizen should be able to accurately predict how the
Court will rule on a particular case.

This ideal can be achieved if those that sit on the Supreme Court
apply the Constitution as written, with absolute standards, which
are as applicable today as when they were originally written,
"evolving standards" notwithstanding.

Given the current nature of partisan politics in Washington, the
currently makeup of the Senate and the stakes of a Supreme
Court appointment, one can only assume that the fight over the
next nominee, whomever it may be, will be contentious.

Ted Kennedy suggested that the President get his nominee "pre-
approved" by Senate Democrats. Democrats also reserved the
right, under the agreement by the Senate "gang of fourteen," to
filibuster any judicial nominee that they consider "extreme."
Anyone want to wager that the President's nominee to fill
Justice O'Connor's seat, whomever that may be, will be
considered extreme by Kennedy and Harry Reid?

Republicans hold control of the Presidency, the House, Senate
and a majority of state governorships. Conservatives have
spoken in the past three national elections. The left is unable to
advance their agenda via the election process, leaving their only
option in the courts. Now is the time to put a halt to the
relentless advances of the progressive agenda in the judiciary.

With the resignation of Justice O'Connor and uncertain futures
for Chief Justice William Renquist (health issues) and Justice
John Paul Stevens (85 years of age), President Bush may
ultimately make more than one appointment to the Supreme
Court. Nothing will shape the domestic side of his presidential
legacy more than the individual(s) that he appoints to wear the
black robes.

If it takes the "nuclear option" in the Senate to win confirmation
of a constitutional constructionist to the Supreme Court, then
nuclear it must be. The future of America depends upon it.

-----
Jan A. Larson publishes a weekly commentary, "What is the
Deal?" at the Pie of Knowledge
(http://www.pieofknowledge.com). His work also appears on
NewsBull (http://www.newsbull.com), OpinionEditorials
(http://www.opinioneditorials.com), American Daily
(http://www.americandaily.com), ChronWatch
(http://www.chronwatch.com) and The Conservative Voice
(http://www.theconservativevoice.com).

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