Kerry scares me. He REALLY REALLY scares me.

I’m Christian, and conservative, but I don’t think I am a part of the stereotyped “religious right” (I like drinking, in moderation, and wimmen in bikinis, for starts).

If Kerry gets elected, look for the ICC, bowing to the UN and restrictions on the second amendment.

Also, given their age, look for Kerry to be able to appoint two to three justices (and maybe up to FIVE!) in his first term. Rehnquist, O’Connor, Stevens, Souter, and possibly Ginsberg are getting close to retirement for either age or health reasons (or both).

It will be the last time to get a more conservative court in a generation – and even then, even if a future court IS conservative, it would be extremely difficult for that future court to overturn excesses of the past.

Consider, for example, how difficult it would be for a modern court to establish some teeth for the tenth amendment.

Or how difficult it is to deal with the issue of abortion – and to roll back the invented rights related to it. Whether you are pro choice or pro life, it is hard to argue with the fact that Roe v. Wade was a poorly reasoned decision that essentially invented a right to abortion. Do I think if Roe v Wade were struck down that all abortion would become illegal immediately? Nope – it would be reserved to the states (who would pass different laws according to the desires of their constituencies). But it would be a major blow to the reach of federal intrusion in people’s lives.

To me, federalism is the best type of republican democracy because it theoretically leaves the power for the most intrusive and detailed minutia of legislation to the local and state authorities. I prefer this because it is most logical, and the local officials are likely to be the most responsive.

But, this vision of federalism has been largely eradicated. Right now, there are possibilities of turning some of it back (the number of 5-4 decisions over the past fifteen years is staggering). If, however, we get another three decades of liberal court decisions, it may well be impossible to reverse the trend.

And that would be a tragedy, and, quite frankly, would mark the end of a valuable part of this political idea that is America.

- posted by MrSpkr @ 22:36