Disappointed
In case you live under a rock, Colin Powell, a Republican, endorsed Barack Obama, a Democrat, for President. I am disappointed by this. Not because he endorsed Obama, anyone can choose to support whoever they want. I am disappointed by this because of the reasons he gave for supporting Obama. The reason that stuck out to me the most was that Powell was fearful that McCain would appoint Justices like Scalia and Alito.
I thought that Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was a man of character. Apparently I was wrong. General Powell thinks that Justices should interpret the law in whatever way they see fit. That is not character. That is folding over to appease a small fraction of people. Standing up for what you believe in, in this case, the Constitution, is character. The Constitution was not written to change with whatever people might think at a certain time. It is a list of principles that this country was founded on would guide the country forever.
For YEARS, the Court has just legislated whatever they wanted without recourse from any other branch of Government. They pick and choose which parts of the Constitution they like and which parts they don’t. I wrote about it here. Interpreting the Constitution in that fashion is intellectually dishonest. In fact, there is nothing intellectual about it. All the justices do is insert whatever they think is right and make a weak, at best, Constiutional case for it. The Constitutional argument that was made for Roe v. Wade was that throughout the history of time there has been abortions. What? They also used to sacrifice virgins and burn women at the stake. Guess I can do that and it will be protected by the the Liberty clause in the 14th Amendment. Justice Blackman said it was OK for me to do that. You see how this is a slippery-slope.
This is why the Constitution was drafted. The principles found in the Constitution are unchanging. They don’t change with the times like a leaf in the wind. That is not principles, that is lacking character and principles. It’s OK to believe in something. It’s OK to have something that is unwavering. I never elected Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Why is she making legislative decisions? She is acting in a way that is contrary to what ALL the Founding Father’s agreed with. It wasn’t just the Federalists who thought this way, it was all of them. General Powell lacks character.
Todd
