Most citizens have heard of the passing of Supreme Justice Scalia, and for those that have not, you should know that Justice Scalia was a strict constitutionalist and rock ribbed conservative. The choice of his replacement is only the minor element of importance. This is not to suggest that his importance to the Court and the type of his replacement is not consequential.
President Obama, our current lame duck, will push the Senate to choose a new nominee. The Senate fortunately has the power of advise and consent and as a result, this decision will not be made until the next president is sworn in. However, the major point to consider is that not only will the next president choose this replacement to the Court, but very likely will choose three other new Supreme Court justices.
Judge Ginsberg, who is in poor health, just turned 83; Judge Kennedy will be 80 in July; and Judge Breyer will be 78 in August. All will very likely be replaced in the four-year term of the next administration.
The next president will shape the face of the Supreme Court like no other in our history and I trust this will be a conservative. Currently in the divided court, the five most prominent cases involve affirmative action, public employment union dues, abortion rights, birth control mandate of Obamacare, and the selection of voter representation by district. Each of the cases merits importance in varying degrees to the nature of our system.
However, consider the effect of very left of center nominees by the apparent nominee of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton. This would be a disaster, when you remember Clinton wrote her 92-page senior thesis on Rules for Radicals, written by an avowed communist, Saul Alinsky. This book was dedicated to Lucifer.
How do you think a nominee of hers would stand on the stifling of our second amendment rights with the potential serious restrictions on what guns you could own or the ammo permitted. Do you support amnesty for illegal immigrants? You can be sure this would be an executive order that would eventually be decided by the Supreme Court composed of her selected appointments.
Other issues in my opinion that would more than likely find their way to this court are: single payer health care; potential prosecution of deniers of “climate change”; forgiveness of student loan debt or the serious modification of this element; sanctity of life and late-term abortion; and areas of religious freedom.
The appointment of four liberal judges to this court during a term of Hillary Clinton would turn our country upside down and completely change the course of our nation for the next 30 to 40 years and perhaps permit it to never be returned to it roots. I cannot stress too strongly that I believe this potentiality should motivate all concerned citizens to avoid this looming disaster.
I should also ask that you make yourself aware of the major importance of retaining a conservative Senate. Please do not sit by and let this nightmare come to pass. Make every effort to become aware of this and other issues of importance, if we do not our freedom will surely slip away from each of us and our families.
Jan Dolcater of Rockport is a member of a group of concerned Midcoast citizens who meet to discuss issues of public interest. Their weekly column “Another View” has been awarded by the Maine Press Association.
