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I agree on what the next step is, but not just because it's the most feasible, but also cuz it's the right step. In my opinion, if America is unwilling to amend the constitution to ban abortion, then our federal gubmint has no business outlawing it. Likewise, if the people aren't willing to codify a right to abortion, the fed gov has no business asserting it. So, yes, we are in agreement. The reason I brought it up on this thread is because for me, there is no substitute for strict construction. I don;t want an authoritarian who happens to agree with me on an issue or two. I want someone intent on limiting federal scope and limiting judicial invention. That is primary for me. GWB says he'll pick Scalias, but in his semi-coherent babblings, he's also left me unsure if he knows what that means. So I am jealously looking after it.

The founders did not always adhere to founding principles of this country laid out by the DOI and the US Constitution. The Catholic Church does not always adhere to principles as put forth in the Old and New Testaments. All of us do not always adhere to our own principles. That is because all of us, from the founders on down, are fallible.

Roe and Dred Scott are but two instances where the principles laid out in the DOI and affirmed in the 5th and 14th Amendments were violated. They are blatant examples of a majority stepping on the inalienable rights of a defenseless minority.

So what should one do when deciding between the principles of the right to life and liberty vs strict contructionalism? It is evident to me that certain principles should indeed be inalienable and not subject to the whim of court majorities or plebiscites.

Given a choice, I would vote for the man or woman who espoused the principles set forth in the DOI, 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment rather than the man or woman who pledged to rule based only on strict construction when ruling on a basis of strict construction would violate the founding principles of this nation.

And now a question for you my friend. Would you vote to affirm a man or woman who pledged to strictly follow the constitution and affirm a black man to be less than a person or a man or woman of principle who understood that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."?