High-court fears drive conservatives to rally around McCain, overlook flaws

The Washington Times ^ | 5-21-08 | Ralph Z. Hallow

[JZelle]

Prominent conservatives and activists are indicating they will put aside their differences with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and rally their supporters to his side because of one issue: federal judgeships.

In big gatherings and small, in e-mails and one-on-one conversations, conservative opinion leaders fear a Democratic president, especially Sen. Barack Obama, will use the presidential power to appoint federal judges who will remove references to God and religious symbols from public places.

They predict the incoming president likely will fill more vacancies on the federal bench over the next four years than at any time in recent memory, giving a Democratic administration the power to shape the courts to reflect a liberal worldview.

The American Civil Liberties Union "has been on a national rampage to remove God from every public place: the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments, plaques in courthouses, the Boys Scouts when they meet on public property," said Phyllis Schlafly, head of the Eagle Forum, a pro-family group that held a private meeting for conservatives yesterday in a Washington hotel.

"These subjects should get out on the table so people understand what's going on in the courts," she said.

Peter J. Ferrara, general counsel to the conservative legal rights group American Civil Rights Union, said, "McCain said he'd appoint people like [Supreme Court Chief Justice John] Roberts and [Justice Samuel] Alito. Obama is saying he'd name people like [Justices Ruth Bader] Ginsberg and [David] Souter."

Conservatives consider the latter pair to be the two most consistently liberal Supreme Court justices.

"Obama is swimming in a sea of left-wing extremism with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright [Mr. Obama's former pastor] and [violent radical activist and Obama acquaintance] Bill Ayers and the rest of them," said Mr. Ferrara, a former Reagan White House aide.

[NonValueAdded]

Ain’t that the truth! And this excrement sandwich will be the toughest to choke down.

[Notary Sojac]

Did ya notice that 28% of Kentucky Republicans thought it was worthwhile to get to the polls in order to vote against McCain?

Some "rally".

[Balding_Eagle]

McCains’ judges pick will come from a list provided by the then Senate Majority Leader.

The list will include Ginsburg II and Ginsburg III.

With his history of crossing the aisle and, once there, turning and giving us Conservatives the finger, I don’t think he’s going to ask for a longer list.

[Grunthor]

High-court fears drive *Republicans to rally around McCain, overlook flaws.

* - how it should have read.

[Robert DeLong]

Well then enjoy President Obama for 4 long years.

[E. Cartman]

With McCain, he recently said he’s against activist judges, and wants to appoint judges such as Roberts and Alito.

And if one could safely go on what MacCain says (vs. what he's actually done in the past), we'd be safe. But if you want to know how a person will behave in the future study his past. So, once he's elected, he'll "grow" in office and nominate judges that'll make Kennedy proud.

[isrul]

What conservative judges would you expect to leave the bench over the next 4 years. The older and more decrepit ones are already liberal. Replacing a liberal with another liberal isn't great. But it isn't really the end of the Republic. Just maintaining a status quo.

[Grunthor]

“and what if all you get is more Souters?”

You really think they’ll be THAT good?

[Robert DeLong]

Nope it was correct the way it was written, at least in my case. I am a conservative the reluctantly rallies around McCain.

[avacado]

"The title is a self contradiction. Anyone who supports a socialist like McCain is not a conservative."

Anyone who allows Obama into the Whitehouse is not only not a Conservative but that person is a liberal.

[NormsRevenge]

I hear ya, it is the proverbial sticky wicket.. and we get stuck in the end for years with justices.

I wish I could believe McCain, I really do, but he comes from a breed of politicians I wouldn’t trust any further than I could toss ‘em.

Would the judges nominated be left of Alito and well left of Roberts, I would suspect so.. allowing hope to determine one’s vote is a precarious choice tho.. one needs to look at past performance and results.

We could end up with even more “campaign finance reform”, sanctioned by the judges and signed off by the President (again) than we have at present, regardless how many Ultralibs are in the picture either way.

I wish it was a slamdunk as some would hope.. X41 comes to mind however..

[Grunthor]

“I am a conservative the reluctantly rallies around McCain.”

So long as you never forget the tale of the frog and the scorpion.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Obama goes down to a McGovern style landslide, and that he affects down ballot races, including some Senate races.....

I agree, this situation is going to have to work around McCain for conservatives. He’s not looking our way for anything, at least currently. (pathetic)

[NormsRevenge]

I’m ever an optimist as long as I’m breathing on my own., ;-)

[NormsRevenge]

I’m ever an optimist as long as I’m breathing on my own., ;-)

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

What? Sell out what principles this party once stood for because of fear?

Not this Conservative.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

Oooh - how insightful! I would rather see RINOs fight a democRAT President than fawn all over a RINO President.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Let’s see, McNuts voted for Ginsberg, Souter and several other Liberal Supreme slimes. So, how does this convince many Conservatives that he will somehow reverse his past behavior?

The ignorance on both sides is sickening.

[Jim Scott]

I'm not yet convinced that 'maverick' McCain can be trusted to nominate conservative candidates for future Supreme Court Justice seats. His VP pick will be a very important consideration, as I expect McCain will only serve one term due to his age and health issues that I expect will arise.

With a likely Democrat majority in the senate next year, I can easily envision McCain dumping any actual conservative for some 'compromise' Supreme Court nominee, like David Souter, who will be sold as a 'conservative' because he (or she) once voted in favor of one or two 'conservative' issues while on some lower court. Once sworn in, the pretend 'conservative' will promptly rule on the liberal side and declare they are 'progressive' and 'open-minded' regarding the constitution.

Too late then for recriminations and finger-pointing. Even 'I told you so' won't mean much as our freedoms are slowly contracted, by law. Although Obama scares me in his hard-core leftism, European-centered worldview and obvious naiveté, I don't necessary see McCain as a reasonable alternative.

I intend to wait awhile and see how the inevitable Obama candidacy plays out. I believe Barack Obama is a very flawed candidate in the mold of Mike Dukakis. Worse, actually. I also believe that McCain will win the election handily. If that looks like a reality in October, I'll go ahead and vote for anybody but McCain (or a Democrat). If it looks tight and McCain is trailing, I'll vote for him, with an industrial-sized clothes-pin on my nose.

However, I won't be 'overlooking' his flaws, just accepting them as slightly preferable to the Marxist alternative.

[BubbaBasher]

Wishfull thinking on several counts. I don't see many people rallying behind McCrazy. They may be holding their noses but they aren't rallying.

Anyone that listens to what he says now instead of what he has done/said in the past is going to be very disappointed. Look at his past comments and actions in regards to judges and you won't find support for conservative judges. Wake up people!