The election and the courts
Sunday, October 5th, 2008By Kathy G.
One hugely important issue in this election that has received scant attention is the impact the next president could have on the courts. Just look at the Supreme Court. The justice who is now the swing vote on many cases, Anthony Kennedy, is 72. Among the four “liberals” (it would be more accurate to describe them as moderates), David Souter is 69, Stephen Breyer is 70, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75, and John Paul Stevens is 88. In contrast, three of the four most hard-line conservative justices are 60 or younger.
The next president will almost certainly be appointing at least one, and likely more, Supreme Court justices. Nominations of federal judges will also be extremely important. What would be the consequences of four more years of Republican judicial appointments?
One thing is all but certain: abortion rights will go by the wayside. Dealing with a Democratic Congress would force John McCain to compromise on many issues important to the base, but one area where he will certainly be able to deliver is judicial appointments. As the Palin pick resoundingly demonstrates, on social issues, McCain is captive to the Christian right, and his judicial appointments would surely be ardently anti-choice. (more…)