Political Thoughts with Richard Bleil
Today, “Justice” John Roberts said in an interview with two judges from the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeal conference, “If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function of interpreting the constitution, I’m not sure who would take up that mantle. You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is, and you don’t want public opinion to be the guide about what the appropriate decision is” according to a news story published by NPR news. According to the article, he was speaking to a recent drop in the people’s confidence in the Supreme court, and lamented driving past barriers and guards to get to work that were erected to protect the court after the Dobb’s decision overturning Roe v Wade.
First, let me state my opinion in no uncertain terms. Mitch McConnel and the Republican Party are to blame for the erosion of confidence in the Supreme Court after their antics robbing President Obama from his legitimate right to choose one of the justices and in loading the court in their favor. How can anybody take the nation’s highest court as non-political when the stench of political games engulfs it? That the picks of Trump seemed to have clearly lied to Congress and the American People to be seated to push their own personal agendas makes matters worse.
Poor “Justice” Roberts, fearing retribution and anger, just as minorities have in their largely peaceful marches for equality and their rights. Just as I do every time I leave the house because my leanings are far left of those who are suddenly armed in public. Poor widdle “justice”.
His statement seems to indicate that he really doesn’t understand the constitution. Yes, the other branches DO tell the Supreme Court what the law is. It’s their job. The role of Congress is to pass and revoke laws. It’s what they do. The Supreme Court does NOT decide what the laws are. The only job of the Supreme Court is to interpret the laws. For completeness, the role of the Executive Branch is to enforce the laws, something that is particularly troubling considering the behavior and apparent violations of the Trump administration.
And while we’re at it, I have a very hard time accepting the judgement of a Supreme Court that seems to espouse the concept that if it’s not in the Constitution, then it’s not Constitutional. Electricity was not in the Constitution. Is it time to turn off the entire power grid? The Founding Fathers understood that things change. This is why the Constitution was written to be flexible, and changeable, and the only reason that it has survived more than two centuries.
As far as the will of the people go, I do agree with “justice” Roberts that the will of the people should not directly influence the decisions of the court. However, it would be wise for the Supreme Court to realize that in a nation with a government “of the people and by the people”, the will of those same people are the ones who make up the government and will ultimately lead its direction. The Republican Party is afraid of this simple truth as the current Republican candidates are busy trying to “scrub” evidence of their past statements that were absolutely against women’s rights and trying to distance themselves from their party’s recent wins restricting those same rights. What was a sure-thing midterm sweep just a few months ago is suddenly in question and jeopardy as the American voters, and women in particular, are suddenly shifting towards Democratic candidates.
I believe that, as long as this nation espouses party-based politics (as it will for the foreseeable future), we need healthy parties of opposing opinion. The truth is rarely one extreme or the other, and the parties, I hope, will again learn to work together to find compromises and the best solutions for all. But the fact is that the Republican Party has been too powerful for too long, and representatives like McConnel and Trump who seem to be so excessively corrupt have done too much damage, in my opinion, to our government. Finally, people are starting to see and recognize the ramifications of the actions of people like these and the party that supported and promoted them. While Republican representatives have spoken out against these kinds of actions, the votes are always in lockstep with the Republican actions. They can say what they want, but the reality is that the entire party refused to impeach Trump or even consider the evidence before making their decisions. It’s time that the entire party learns the lesson and pays for its actions in the upcoming election.
Bleil's Banter 