THE COMING US SUPREME COURT BATTLE: WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

 

If 2020 were not eventful enough - Covid, lockdown, economic downturn, wild-fires, hurricanes, and a rowdy presidential campaign - the temperature is about to burst out of thermometer. Now there is a vacancy in the US Supreme Court. If you thought that the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were turbulent … put on your seatbelts for a potentially wild ride.

 

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second female justice, died on the 18th of September. Known affectionately as RBG, she had a sharp mind, steel determination, and was universally respected by leftists and conservatives alike. She successfully fought for women’s right in the workplace. Her philosophy was autonomy for women, equality with men. As a left-of-centre judge, she sided with the liberal wing of the court consistently. Since Trump’s presidency ‘RBG’ became a cultural icon to the Left.

What happens next is that the current US President Donald Trump nominates a new justice to fill the empty seat, and it must be confirmed by the US Senate. In times gone by, this was a normal Constitutional procedure but the culture war has converted this process for an apolitical position into a political storm. The clouds are rolling in.

PURPOSE OF SCOTUS

Like other western democracies, sound governance requires independent branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judiciary. With the appropriate ‘checks and balances’ and ‘separation of powers,’ no one gets too much power and the wheels of government move smoothly for the benefit of all.

The Supreme Court, consisting of nine appointed justices-for-life, are meant to be an non-partisan constitutional umpires. They are supposed to determine the constitutionality of any given legislation, and nothing more.

LEFT TURN

From the 1950s, if not earlier, SCOTUS started to turn left and drift from its original purpose. Justices no longer stayed in their box by measuring laws according to the Constitution. Instead they became activists for ‘social justice’ and ‘left-wing causes.’

The results of this included banning prayer and Bible study in public schools, permitting porn novels, allowing a confessed a raptist-murderer released on a technicality because he wasn’t told his right to a lawyer when questioned; enabling other murderers to get off lightly because ‘they did poorly in school.’

THE TURNING POINT: ROE VS. WADE 1973

Of all the rulings in the 20th Century, the most notorious of all was Roe vs. Wade on 22 January, 1973 (the very day former President Lyndon Baines Johnson died). This ruling changed everything. In a 7-2 ruling, SCOTUS decreed abortion rights be given to women across the United States.

The justices took the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, meant to preserve ‘life, liberty and property,’ and used it to create a ‘woman’s right to privacy.’ No where is there an explicit or implicit mention of such a right. Even if the Constitution did point to a right to privacy, how does it justify abortion? In essence, SCOTUS created the right to abortion out of thin air. The Constitution was totally irrelevant.

Roe vs. Wade changed everything. Justices were now dictating public policy from the court bench. The seven unelected judges had become de facto super legislators. Roe overruled the laws of around 30 US states with the stroke of a pen. From 1973 onward, SCOTUS would continue to interfere with states rights, religious liberty, sanctity of marriage, and the list goes on.

Make no mistake about it: no single-institution, be it academia, the media, Hollywood, or the Democratic Party - has had the single-most radical impact on society during the current culture war than the Supreme Court. Don’t be fooled - just because a person wears a black robe does not make them a paragon of traditional values and conservatism. SCOTUS has greatly contributed to the long march towards a progressive utopia.

Over the decades conservatives watched in dismay as SCOTUS made decision after decision that departed from the Constitution, eroded the checks and balances in government, and undermined Judaeo-Christian values. The US Framers of the Constitution would be shocked at how the Supreme Court has evolved. This central document is not a mere suggestion; it is the law of the land.

What’s worse is that Republican Presidents would nominate seeming conservatives or moderates, only to have them drift to the Left. This happened with William Brennan, nominated by Dwight Eisenhower; Warren Burger, a Nixon appointee; David Souter from Bush 41; and the current Chief Justice John Roberts, nominated by Bush 43. Every one of these justices cast off judicial restraint and joined the leftist wing of the court.

Why did this happen? Possibly they succumbed to pressure from the White House, Congress, or both. Of course, that’s not how it should happen to co-equal independent branches of government.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

RBG, of Jewish heritage, died on Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. The symbolism of ‘new year, new beginnings’ is amazing: Her replacement will be a woman, something she would have approved of. And there is more ….

President Trump and the Republican Party have a golden opportunity - the first time in over 50 years - to create a conservative majority in SCOTUS, which could continue for decades due to life tenure. This comes by appointing justices who takes the US Constitution as written, as well as employ a balanced common sense view. Such issues as abortion, the 1st and 2nd Amendments, and religious liberty, have an excellent chance to be properly adjudicated and/or restored.

A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS?

As per the Constitution, the sitting President is to make a nomination to the court and have it confirmed by the Senate. Many of these nominations have been in an election year. President Trump has announced his intention to do precisely that.

For such a routine constitutional procedure, the opposition Democratic Party is going ballistic. They are highly incensed that Trump would nominate a justice so close to an election. However, nominating a judge in what is meant to be an apolitical Supreme Court shouldn’t matter - the seat needs to be filled.

The Democratic Party and its supporters have threatened the following:

1.        Pack the Court: Add more seats to the court and fill them with activist judges. The last time this was proposed was 83 years ago by FDR, after his landslide election win in 1936 - he failed. Even RBG disapproved of court packing.

2.        More Senators: Democrats want to give statehood to Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, thus adding 4 senators;

3.        Filibuster: They want to abolish the filibuster, which affects the confirmation process.

4.        Remove the electoral college: This mechanism in the US Constitution is to balance states rights with the people’s vote - a circuit breaker against mob rule;

5.        Protests and riots: Threats of even greater unrest are being promised if the President even dares to nominate a justice, even a female.

6.        Mobs: They are gathering in protest in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home, and other prominent Republicans.

7.        Impeachment: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not ruled out impeaching President Trump for merely fulfilling his constitutional duty.

This rhetoric, even if not acted upon, represents a potential constitutional crisis. Any or all of these actions could undermine the checks and balances of the Constitution, putting the union in peril.

Why all this angst and unhinged behaviour? It has to do with Roe vs. Wade and the right to an abortion. Mind you, if Roe was overturned, abortion would not disappear in the United States. If would simply return the issue to the states, who can decide on their own. With such a hot potato issue as abortion, it should be left to each individual state.

CONFIRM A JUSTICE NOW

Senator Ted Cruz gave the best reason for a nomination and confirmation for the next SCOTUS seat, as soon as possible. In normal times, it need not be a rush - but these are far from normal times and the culture war is at fever pitch.

Do you remember the 2000 US Presidential election? Vice-President Al Gore won the popular vote by 300,000 out of 100 million. However, his opponent Governor George W. Bush claimed victory in the electoral college by winning Florida by only  500 votes. Gore refused to concede, contested the election results, and demanded that there be a recount. Eventually SCOTUS got involved and voted to let the Florida results stand. Bush was declared President. This process took 6 weeks and it involved only one state.

Joe Biden has hired 600 lawyers to contest the election outcome in several states, even before one vote has been counted. He is being urged to not concede an election loss ‘under any circumstances.’ Should the election results go to the Supreme Court, like in 2000, an even-number of Supreme Court justices could render a tie vote 4-4. This nightmare scenario would subject the nation to gridlock for weeks and months. Nancy Pelosi, as the 3rd highest official ranking politician in the country, would become the acting President.

America needs an odd-number of justices - all 9 of them - to prevent a possible tie. In essence, this is not just a routine constitutional procedure - it is a national security issue. With so much at stake on so few, it is time to pray for God’s hand of mercy on the United States and for a quick and decisive election result on November 3rd.