Nuance is not a Vice
Monday, August 02, 2004
The Supreme reason...
Well I'm back after a lengthy hiatus. This post is going to brief and to the point:
Vote for John Kerry.
Don't vote for John Kerry because his policies on health care and education make more sense then George W. Bush's. Don't vote for John Kerry because he promotes a foreign policy that embraces multilateralism. Don't vote for John Kerry because he believes that equality means equality for EVERYONE, not just the people whose lifestyle we agree with. Don't vote for John Kerry because he understands that the world isn't cast in black and white. And please, whatever you do, don't (seriously, don't) vote for John Kerry because he's a war hero.
Vote for John Kerry because it's extraordinarily likely at least one Supreme Court Justice will retire in the next four years.
That's what this election is really about, in terms of the long run. The bureaucracy is built so no catastrophic changes can be made through the Oval Office, and let's be honest, a Kerry Administration is not going to markedly change the daily routine from a Bush Administration. But those lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court bring with them the gravest import; they shape the very history which we and our children will be living through. If Richard Nixon was president in 1967, it's doubtful Thurgood Marshall would ever have sat on that hallowed bench. How many 5-4 decisions would have tipped the other way if a lion of a different persuasion had been appointed?
With an aging and sickly Court, the odds of one or more Justices having to step down is so likely as to almost be a probability. Allowing president Bush to replace a conservative like Rehnquist would be bad enough, but think of if Ruth Bader Ginsburg goes, or Sandra Day O'Connor. Think if there was no longer a swing vote, but a right-leaning certainty.
What issues will be before the Court in the coming years?: Gay rights, a revisitation of Roe v. Wade, issues of personal liberty versus national security. The makeup of the bench will directly impact which way this nation curves, and whomever emerges the victor in November will likely decide that makeup. This is the most important election of our lifetimes -- but not because of the war in Iraq or homeland security, but because of the very future of the Supreme Court.
We've seen what havoc misguided Courts have handed down. We've seen Plessy v. Ferguson and Dred Scott. We've seen Korematsu telling us its ok to lock up Japanese-Americans. Who is it that's going to be deciding whether it's OK to lock up Arab-Americans?
Forget taxes in 2004. Forget social security, forget medicare, forget education, forget the environment, even forget the war on terror. If you need a swing issue in this election, just remember: Whomever America elects in three months will impact the course of events for decades to come.
This is about the Supreme Court.
