I wonder which group McCain falls into. At another time, he said the following;
---"If," McCain said, "the Supreme Court of the United States rejects the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional; if state legislatures are frustrated by the decisions of jurists in more states than one, and if state remedies to such judicial activism fail; and finally, if a large majority of Americans come to perceive that their communities'values are being ignored and other standards concerning marriage are being imposed on them against their will, and that elections and state legislatures can provide no remedy, then, and only then, should we consider, quite appropriately, amending the Constitution of the United States."---
He's got so many "ifs" in there that its hard to keep up with the circumstances required for him to prove he's the conservative he claims to be. Most of the 'ifs' are fine, but one in particular strikes me as noteworthy. He says "if a large majority of Americans come to perceive that their communities'values are being ignored and other standards concerning marriage are being imposed on them against their will..."
Maybe its nothing, but this sends up warning flares to me. Polls go back and forth on the matter, with public opposition to gay marriage ranging from a small majority to and overwhelming one. Its probably a safe bet that the general trend is towards more support of gay marriage (no surprise considering the overwhelmingly pro-gay messages of Hollywood, the media, etc), with large spikes in the opposition whenever the latest group of judges decides to act like kings. So what does McCain define as "overwhelming?" What if only 51% oppose the inevitable Sup Court imposition of gay marriage when it finally arrives? Would the unjustified, unconstitutional, arrogant act of the Court somehow be justified if opposition is not higher? I'm sorry, but this sounds like a weasel line if I've ever heard one.
Again, such an act and decision by the Sup Court would not be justified. It would be an unconstitutional decision. So why would it matter to McCain what the level of opposition is? Either the SCOTUS decision is correct, or it is not. Either we should meekly accept judicial supremacy or we should not. If McCain believes so strongly that the matter is properly in the realm of state authority, then he should oppose a SCOTUS imposition of gay marriage/civil unions regardless of the polls. Why would he suddenly accept the views of Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter, and Kennedy as superior to his own, especially with his ego?
And it ignores regional opinions and views. Whenever the people have actually voted directly on the matter, they have usually rejected gay marriage by larger margins than polls put the overall national level of opposition at. Its ranged from a low of 56% in Oregon to over 80% in Mississippi. Even if the public becomes, for some reason, more pro-gay marriage, and even if a majority in some states come to support it, then its still a safe bet that many states (in the South, Southwest, Midwest, and Rocky Mtn West) would still oppose gay marriage/civil unions by large margins. What would McCain say to them if the overall national mood was different?
Has anyone ever asked McCain point-blank -- yes or no -- if he would support an Amendment to overturn a hypothetical SCOTUS imposition?
I try not to read too much into things that may not have been intended to carry much meaning, but with comments like these and the recemt ones by the First Lady (basically saying that its not a subject fit for politics), I think the groundwork for ultimate betrayal is being laid by the GOP elite/leadership. I think that many of them are increasingly embarrassed by the fact that they rely so much on evangelicals/conservative Catholics to win elections, and would love to be rid of the need to pretend to care about the views of wishes of this base. The Court could be there way out. If so, how long before we start hearing our own leaders say 'the courts have spoken, the issue is settled, time to move on...'
It would be interesting to know what other conservatives think about this. What do you think, for example, will be the response from the GOP if/when the Sup Court imposes gay marriage/civil unions? Would anyone be surprised if instead of a of vigorous campaign to overturn/thwart the decision, we'd instead have a half-hearted effort doomed to failure? In this scenario, I don't think that conservatives would be blameless, as its easy to imagine division over how to word an Amendment to overturn the High Court with one side preferring a ban, while others prefer one that stops short of that and instead explicity empowers the states and takes power from the courts. Its easy to see this division resulting in no Amendment at all, and then we'd have another Roe.
McC will never get the GOP nomination....tooooo Dean like!
Determining if such an amendment is errant in such regards is rightly the domain of the Supreme Court AFTER such is if ever realized and IF challenged. It is not the domain of the legislature to become impotent defenders of doing nothing claiming as reason a fear of Constitutional shadows.
McCain nixes marriage measure
McCain = RINO never to be elected President...
Would he favor, for example, a constitutional amendment that forebade the judiciary from overruling a decision made by the people -- via referendum or through their elected legislators?
Simply stated, McCain is simply expanding his political portfolio -- adding expediency to opportunism.