The Constitution is Not a “Living, Breathing Document” (Fred fires back at Huck)

Fred08.com ^ | 18 Jan 2008 | Fred Thompson

[commish]

This morning I heard that one of the other candidates commented that the Constitution is a “living, breathing document.”

Frankly, I assumed this came from Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. It is identical to what Al Gore said when he was running for President in 2000, when he said he would look for judges “who understand that our Constitution is a living, breathing document, that it was intended by our founders to be interpreted in the light of the constantly evolving experience of the American people.”

Imagine my surprise when I learned that this statement actually came from my opponent, Governor Huckabee, in an interview with CNN this morning. Now I know Governor Huckabee was talking about amending the Constitution, but I don’t think he understood that he was using code words that support judicial activism.

He does not appear to understand that reliance on the notion that the Constitution is a living, breathing document is precisely the kind of wrong-headed thinking about the Constitution that gave us Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across our nation, and Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized sodomy.

I do not believe the Constitution is a living, breathing document. I am committed to appointing strict constructionist judges to the bench if I am elected President, strict constructionists who believe the Constitution has a fixed meaning that can be applied to cases that come before the courts today. They do NOT believe the Constitution is a “living, breathing document,” whose meaning, constantly changing with the sifting sands of our culture, can be determined and applied by unelected judges.

I fear that this loose language about our Constitution calls into question Governor Huckabee’s appreciation and understanding of the issue of judicial activism and raises questions as to what kind of judges he would appoint were he to become President.

[Sue Perkick]

Fred who should be President.

[Dead Corpse]

Nice. I’m still kinda luke-warm on Fred, but not letting stuff like this crap from the Huckster slide puts a smile on my face.

[Theodore R.]

One cannot contribute to a nominee after the convention — all the money then is public-funded. I guess you can give to local committee.

One of the big problems is that 20 states have to be “written off” from the start, including big ones: CA, NY, PA, NJ, MI, OH, IL, MA, it’s not encouraging.

[HHFi]

Once again, Fred does what he does best: takes an opponent’s words out of context and twists their meaning so he can call him a liberal. So much better than actually having a record of executive experience. Yay! Let’s make him President! He knows full well what Huckabee was talking about, but he chose to distort it so he could make an attack and toss more red meat to the Fredheads, who are so besotted with him, they apparently actually believe he really drives that rented pickup truck (http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10863.html). Question that will probably make Fred call me a communist: If the Founding Fathers intended for the Constitution to be forever set in stone, why did they create a process for amending it?

[commish]

I apologize, the obnoxious posters on here that have been posting the same darn thing over and over and over and over have me so wired that I find myself snapping at everyone lately.

[SatinDoll]

If not on the ballot, write his name in.

Fred Dalton Thompson for President.

Sounds just right.

[SoConPubbie]

McCain’s internals must show Huckabee closing. He probably made a call to Thompson and unleashed him as attack dog du jour.

You analogy is fatally flawed.

Fred is a conservative and his focus right now in the Primaries is conservatives.

McCain is very moderate, and as such, has hit the ceiling with his current numbers and when Super Tuesday rolls around you will see his numbers collaspe.

Also, see which states McCain focuses on, Michigan, New Hampshire, and others that are not considered conservative.

Couple that with his past record of so-called moderation and you see that Fred and McCain are going after two different sets of voters.

Fred and the Huckster and to some extent Mitt, are going after the conservatives.

The Huckster with his horrible record and his constant campaign gaffes is the easiest target and (currently) has the support of the largest block of voters who normally would be supporting Fred.

Therefore, Fred is doing the wise thing and focusing on what he needs to focus on to keep his momemtum going.

He is not going to do the Huckster's or Mitt's work for them in attacking McCain. McCain will fall almost by himself.

[elpadre]

The Constitution is like a “plumb line” to a carpenter which keeps the house square and sturdy. By always applying the “plumb line” the structure will not become askew and wobbly.

The same can be said about the Gospel of Jesus Christ - it is the “plumb line” for life.

[SoConPubbie]

Fred needs to pay more attention to telling us what he believes and less criticizing others.

I would disagree, Fred needs to keep on doing what he has been doing, telling the truth.

This is a necessary task as the MSM and even some of our so-called conservative leaders in this election cycle have dropped the ball and can no longer be trusted to be either objective or even honest.

[SuziQ]

Peet (who can’t wait to get out of Mass)

I hear you, Peet! We're remodeling our house to put it on the market. As soon as it's finished and sold, we're OUTTA HERE, and heading back home to MS. Twenty years in this place is more than enough, and since hubby is going to be self-employed, we can live anywhere we want, and that place is NOT here.

[Owen]

Okay nevermind all this. Funniest post of the day is this video:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955962/posts

[SuziQ]

Fred needs to pay more attention to telling us what he believes and less criticizing others.

He's done both, many times.

[TeleStraightShooter]

Our USC is a “living, breathing document.”

Hey Huck! could you do the same for my mortgage and forgive debt in the name of social justice?

...... wait, that populist just might.......

[keats5]

"red gets it. I’m sorry so many voters don’t." That's exactly the problem. Voters don't get it, even so called "Republican" voters. Our candidates are so liberal because this party has become weak and dumbed down. When I talk to other Republicans, I can hardly believe what I hear. I'm finding fewer and fewer differences between them and the liberals. So many in this country have become intellectually lazy, and have no idea why they should oppose a "living breathing constitution."

I'm waiting for my fellow "Republicans" to blast Thompson for inferring there's something wrong with sodomy. Ten years from now, after the MRSA epidemic takes its toll on the general public, people will look back and say he was right. By then it will be too late for his political candidacy.

[SuziQ]

I prefer Huckabee’s: federal law making abortion illegal just like slavery was done away with...not state by state.

The problem remains that some folks believe Huckabee when he says he'll do this. It will not happen in our lifetimes. There are not enough votes in Congress for it, and there are certainly not enough States to pass it. In the meantime, millions of babies will continue to die while pro-lifers wait for the pure solution.

There is however another, less pure solution. If there is a conservative President who is committed to appointing justices to the Supremes who will overturn RoevWade, we can go back to status quo ante, 1973. Voters in every state will then have the opportunity to a) ban abortion outright, b) allow all abortions c) allow abortions with some restrictions. Most states will choose 'c', but I believe there will be many more restrictions than many think. Given the chance to educated their fellow citizens, pro-lifers in every state can work to eliminate abortion except for the hard cases of REPORTED rape or incest, and the threat to the LIFE of the mother. This is the only way a ban will pass in most states, but since the numbers of abortions in those cases will be less than 2%, then 98% of the babies in those states will be saved.

At this point, I'll take those odds, since to not do anything, or to wait for the uniformly most wonderful situation, means that too many unborn babies will continue to die, when something could be done. Fred is committed to this solution, and I believe it could happen.

[SuziQ]

Fred was exactly right. A 'living, breathing constitution' is the term liberals use when wanting to use Judicial Activism to put their agenda into force.

Why didn't Huckabee just say he supports Amendments to the Constitution? Words mean things.

[hinckley buzzard]

commented that the Constitution is a “living, breathing document

This is the smoking gun of liberalism. IF Huckabee actually said this it is empirical proof that he is unfit for public office.

[flynmudd]

He’s a supply side economist. The government NEEDS TO STAY OUT CORPORATE BUSINESS. The government needs only to do what it was originally setup for...keep me safe.

[DoughtyOne]

I hear ya. If one of the other candidates gets in, we’re going to be sorry, no matter which side eventually does.

[Josh Painter]

No, he’s not IN the race. He’s pretty much UNDER it.