While we send our sincere condolences to the large family and numerous friends of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died — peacefully and of natural causes last week after a day of hunting quail on a West Texas ranch — we are ecstatic that the people of the United States are out from under the thumb of a brilliant jurist who had become painfully partisan over the last decade. And flat-out wrong on dozens of social issues.
Scalia’s early years on the court were certainly marked by his conservative outlook, but he had a keen eye on the separation of powers of the government and often surprised the rest of the bench with his strict interpretation of the Constitution, overriding his naturally conservative impulses. But in later years, he stopped even pretending to try to hide his political persuasion. He pleaded with the court to strike down Roe v. Wade; fought affirmative action in several cases; dissented in a case barring sexual discrimination; argued for the right of states to apply the death penalty to teens as young as 16 and to mentally handicapped people as well; and in the political hot potato of 2010, he argued with the majority that corporations and individuals could give unlimited amounts to Super-PACs, political action committees created to help particular candidates win elections but that could not work in tandem with those candidates. More recently, he called for even further rollbacks on campaign contributions, which have already left the fate of many candidates for state and national office effectively in the hands of a couple hundred corporations and multimillionaires, leaving the average Joe with little to no political leverage — an obvious, if not criminal, interpretation of the very document that Scalia once held so dearly.
Of course, while Scalia’s body was still warm, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he will not even hold hearings on anyone nominated by President Obama for the vacant seat. And wouldn’t you know that Sweaty Teddy Cruz, the Canadian with the charm of a salt water crocodile, jumped on the McConnell bandwagon, promising to filibuster any Obama nominee. Like many Republicans, he feels that the seat needs to remain empty until a new president is elected. “This should be a decision for the people,” he told This Week a couple of days ago. “Let the election decide. If the Democrats want to replace this nominee, they need to win the election, but I don’t think the American people want a court that will strip our religious liberties. I don’t think the American people want a court that will mandate unlimited abortions on demand. I don’t think the American people want a court that will write the Second Amendment out of the Constitution.”
Seems that McConnell and Cruz — along with a host of other Republican lawmakers — have yet to realize that Obama was elected to a four-year term and that his fourth year has just started. These folks will just hold their breath ’til they turn blue. Or until the Supreme Court does.
Correction
Last week’s Metropolis story about a former TCU journalism student contained several errors that we would like to correct now. Jeremy Steidl, whose first name we misspelled as “Jerry,” is not the dean of the communications department. Additionally, John Tisdale is not the provost of the university. He is the dean of the journalism school. We regret the errors.
We also would like to note that we removed the story from our website immediately upon learning that the personal safety of several of the involved parties may have been at risk from anonymous readers. We anticipate providing an update soon. –– Anthony Mariani
The article on TCU vs. Free Speech was good, and I was sorry it was not online.
On Republicans vowing to block Obama’s Supreme Court appointments; recall that Senator Obama vowed the same as to then-President Bush. Dems have blocked several Supreme Court appointments. Ever hear of Robert Bork?
Those were objections to specific candidates who had been put forth by presidents. The current Senate, on the other hand, is indicating that they will oppose any nominee however qualified he or she might be. By doing so, they are acting in a thoroughly unpatriotic manner that will damage America.
Can’t you get anything right Hardblower? What’s wrong with you? How old are you?
De mortuis nil nisi bonum.
But I am delighted Justice Scalia has died and gone on to hell.
Scalia was a bitter, burned-out, selfish American for many years … a pure loser as a human and a deviate servant to our country. He turned out to be a shameful, Repug, snot-rag….and so it goes.