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  <updated>2008-08-07T16:00:51-05:00</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>At End of Supreme Court Term, Right Wing Points to November</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/end-supreme-court-term-right-wing-points-november" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/end-supreme-court-term-right-wing-points-november</id>
    <published>2008-07-01T16:42:51-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-08-07T16:00:51-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Ezra</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Dennis Prager" />
    <category term="Family Research Council" />
    <category term="Fred Thompson" />
    <category term="John McCain" />
    <category term="Judiciary" />
    <category term="Lou  Sheldon" />
    <category term="Traditional Values Coalition" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>According to Politico, the Right is <a title="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11413.html" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11413.html">warming</a> to John   McCain&rsquo;s far-right stance on judicial appointments, and with the 5-4 decisions   that closed out the Supreme Court&rsquo;s term, we can see the outline of McCain&rsquo;s and   the Right&rsquo;s campaign to get the base to turn out in November on the issue of   judges.</p>
<p>Last month&rsquo;s Supreme Court decision   on habeas corpus was likened by the Right a &ldquo;<a title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/right_wing_habe.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/right_wing_habe.html">white flag of   surrender</a>&rdquo; that would cause &ldquo;more Americans to be killed&rdquo;; Fred Thompson, a <a title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/mccain_branches.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/mccain_branches.html">judicial   advisor</a> to John McCain, wrote that the &ldquo;remedy&rdquo; was for &ldquo;concerned citizens   to turn out on Election Day to elect a new president.&rdquo; </p>
<p>The more recent decision overturning   D.C.&rsquo;s gun ban inspired <a title="http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-01-13-ted-nugent_x.htm" href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-01-13-ted-nugent_x.htm">Ted   Nugent</a> to <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27217" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27217">write in Human Events</a> that &ldquo;the 5-4 ruling is another painful example&rdquo; of &ldquo;a divisive culture war   raging on, and four supreme justices frighteningly disconnected from the heart   and soul of America.&rdquo; Michael Reagan <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27225" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27225">warned</a> that the   majority &ldquo;will vanish if the liberals manage to elect Barack Obama and give his   party sufficient control of Congress to guarantee that future Court vacancies   will be filled with activist liberal justices who will turn the Constitution   upside down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Family Research Council <a title="http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU08F16&amp;f=PG07J01" href="http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU08F16&amp;f=PG07J01">called</a> the Second   Amendment case &ldquo;a reminder for voters of just how important the elections are   this fall.&rdquo;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The next President is likely to name   2-3 Supreme Court justices, who will be examining the constitutionality of a   variety of laws for the next few decades. Life, marriage, and religious freedom   are all issues that are likely to land in front of the Supreme Court. &hellip; For   fiscal, social, and national defense conservatives, judges are one issue that   brings all conservatives together.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a title="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/269gzinz.asp" href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/269gzinz.asp">According   to</a> the Weekly Standard, a case restricting capital punishment to murderers   and not rapists of children demonstrated &ldquo;that the fight to turn the Court from   a capricious and imperious vanguard of liberalism into an impassive umpire is   far from over.&rdquo; The Standard&rsquo;s Matthew Continetti advised McCain to &ldquo;take this   opportunity to explain how his judicial philosophy differs from Obama's, and why   it matters.&rdquo; A National Review editorial <a title="http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=OWY3OTdhYzNmNjZkOWVmYzJkMGYxNDNjOTE4ZmNiMjI=" href="http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=OWY3OTdhYzNmNjZkOWVmYzJkMGYxNDNjOTE4ZmNiMjI=">similarly   responded</a>, &ldquo;Too many of our justices are evolving away from democracy. Let&rsquo;s   not elect a president who will encourage them &mdash; and appoint more of   them.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Traditional Values Coalition&rsquo;s Lou   Sheldon <a title="http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3352" href="http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3352">wrote</a> that the   death penalty case and the habeas corpus decision &ldquo;are perfect examples showing   why it&rsquo;s important that Americans choose the right person to assume the   Presidency in January 2009.&rdquo;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The person who becomes President and   Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces will likely have to replace Justices   Stevens, Ginsburg, and Souter &ndash; all liberals who use their power to impose their   leftist ideology upon all Americans. &hellip;</p>
<p>If we fail to put a man into the   Oval Office who understands judicial restraint and the rule of law, our legal   system will be set back 30 years. This is especially true if a liberal President   appoints young liberals to the Court and fills up the federal judiciary with   more radical leftist judges.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Finally, there&rsquo;s the 5-4 decision   overturning the &ldquo;Millionaire&rsquo;s Amendment,&rdquo; a part of the McCain-Feingold   campaign finance law that lifted contribution limits for politicians facing   self-funded opponents. Despite McCain&rsquo;s role in originally passing the law,   McCain supporter Hans von Spakovsky <a title="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/293oeegc.asp" href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/293oeegc.asp">wrote</a> that the narrow ruling &ldquo;graphically illustrates just how important the next   president's appointments to the Supreme Court will be to preserving our First   Amendment rights in the political arena.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;[G]iven the number of Supreme Court   appointments a Democratic president will be able to make, an Obama victory will   move America more radically leftward than ever in its history,&rdquo; Dennis Prager <a title="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/07/01/why_i_support_john_mccain" href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/07/01/why_i_support_john_mccain">summarized</a>.</p>
<p>All these cases will continue to be   cited by the Right in pushing its unmotivated constituency to the polls, as &ldquo;are   reminders that elections are not just about putting candidates in office for a   few years,&rdquo; as Thomas Sowell <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27291" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27291">put it</a> to those &ldquo;who   are thinking of venting their frustrations by voting for some third-party   candidate that they know has no chance of being elected. There will be a   president chosen this November, and he will appoint Supreme Court justices   during his term, regardless of whether you stay home or go to the   polls.&rdquo;</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>According to Politico, the Right is <a title="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11413.html" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11413.html">warming</a> to John   McCain&rsquo;s far-right stance on judicial appointments, and with the 5-4 decisions   that closed out the Supreme Court&rsquo;s term, we can see the outline of McCain&rsquo;s and   the Right&rsquo;s campaign to get the base to turn out in November on the issue of   judges.</p>
<p>Last month&rsquo;s Supreme Court decision   on habeas corpus was likened by the Right a &ldquo;<a title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/right_wing_habe.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/right_wing_habe.html">white flag of   surrender</a>&rdquo; that would cause &ldquo;more Americans to be killed&rdquo;; Fred Thompson, a <a title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/mccain_branches.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/06/mccain_branches.html">judicial   advisor</a> to John McCain, wrote that the &ldquo;remedy&rdquo; was for &ldquo;concerned citizens   to turn out on Election Day to elect a new president.&rdquo; </p>
<p>The more recent decision overturning   D.C.&rsquo;s gun ban inspired <a title="http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-01-13-ted-nugent_x.htm" href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-01-13-ted-nugent_x.htm">Ted   Nugent</a> to <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27217" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27217">write in Human Events</a> that &ldquo;the 5-4 ruling is another painful example&rdquo; of &ldquo;a divisive culture war   raging on, and four supreme justices frighteningly disconnected from the heart   and soul of America.&rdquo; Michael Reagan <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27225" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27225">warned</a> that the   majority &ldquo;will vanish if the liberals manage to elect Barack Obama and give his   party sufficient control of Congress to guarantee that future Court vacancies   will be filled with activist liberal justices who will turn the Constitution   upside down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Family Research Council <a title="http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU08F16&amp;f=PG07J01" href="http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU08F16&amp;f=PG07J01">called</a> the Second   Amendment case &ldquo;a reminder for voters of just how important the elections are   this fall.&rdquo;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The next President is likely to name   2-3 Supreme Court justices, who will be examining the constitutionality of a   variety of laws for the next few decades. Life, marriage, and religious freedom   are all issues that are likely to land in front of the Supreme Court. &hellip; For   fiscal, social, and national defense conservatives, judges are one issue that   brings all conservatives together.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a title="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/269gzinz.asp" href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/269gzinz.asp">According   to</a> the Weekly Standard, a case restricting capital punishment to murderers   and not rapists of children demonstrated &ldquo;that the fight to turn the Court from   a capricious and imperious vanguard of liberalism into an impassive umpire is   far from over.&rdquo; The Standard&rsquo;s Matthew Continetti advised McCain to &ldquo;take this   opportunity to explain how his judicial philosophy differs from Obama's, and why   it matters.&rdquo; A National Review editorial <a title="http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=OWY3OTdhYzNmNjZkOWVmYzJkMGYxNDNjOTE4ZmNiMjI=" href="http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=OWY3OTdhYzNmNjZkOWVmYzJkMGYxNDNjOTE4ZmNiMjI=">similarly   responded</a>, &ldquo;Too many of our justices are evolving away from democracy. Let&rsquo;s   not elect a president who will encourage them &mdash; and appoint more of   them.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Traditional Values Coalition&rsquo;s Lou   Sheldon <a title="http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3352" href="http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3352">wrote</a> that the   death penalty case and the habeas corpus decision &ldquo;are perfect examples showing   why it&rsquo;s important that Americans choose the right person to assume the   Presidency in January 2009.&rdquo;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The person who becomes President and   Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces will likely have to replace Justices   Stevens, Ginsburg, and Souter &ndash; all liberals who use their power to impose their   leftist ideology upon all Americans. &hellip;</p>
<p>If we fail to put a man into the   Oval Office who understands judicial restraint and the rule of law, our legal   system will be set back 30 years. This is especially true if a liberal President   appoints young liberals to the Court and fills up the federal judiciary with   more radical leftist judges.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Finally, there&rsquo;s the 5-4 decision   overturning the &ldquo;Millionaire&rsquo;s Amendment,&rdquo; a part of the McCain-Feingold   campaign finance law that lifted contribution limits for politicians facing   self-funded opponents. Despite McCain&rsquo;s role in originally passing the law,   McCain supporter Hans von Spakovsky <a title="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/293oeegc.asp" href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/293oeegc.asp">wrote</a> that the narrow ruling &ldquo;graphically illustrates just how important the next   president's appointments to the Supreme Court will be to preserving our First   Amendment rights in the political arena.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;[G]iven the number of Supreme Court   appointments a Democratic president will be able to make, an Obama victory will   move America more radically leftward than ever in its history,&rdquo; Dennis Prager <a title="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/07/01/why_i_support_john_mccain" href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/07/01/why_i_support_john_mccain">summarized</a>.</p>
<p>All these cases will continue to be   cited by the Right in pushing its unmotivated constituency to the polls, as &ldquo;are   reminders that elections are not just about putting candidates in office for a   few years,&rdquo; as Thomas Sowell <a title="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27291" href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27291">put it</a> to those &ldquo;who   are thinking of venting their frustrations by voting for some third-party   candidate that they know has no chance of being elected. There will be a   president chosen this November, and he will appoint Supreme Court justices   during his term, regardless of whether you stay home or go to the   polls.&rdquo;</p>
    ]]></content>
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