SamSaid!

BLUE STATE LIBERALS

     George Bush is in a really unique position. No matter what happens, his second term will end in January 2009 and he has no worries about re-election. Thus he can tackle an ambitious agenda with no worries about political fall-out. And he does have a full plate. In foreign policy he has to deal with the threat of nuclear proliferation, facing down the dark side of Islam, the War on Terror, a useless UN, preemptive military decisions, and introducing democracy into the Middle East, and an ongoing mess in Iraq.  Then at home, there is the funding (Baby Boomer) issue for Social Security and the looming iceberg of Medicare costs, to say nothing of the worrisome deficit.

     But beyond all of that there is the vexing problem of the social agenda of the Blue State Liberals (BSLs). Matters like abortion, same-sex marriage, “rights” of homosexuals, banning capital punsihment, gun control laws, and eliminating religious references in the public domain. In my mind, all of the preceding can be lumped under the umbrella of the “Battle of the Judges”

    The BSLs would dearly love to see their agenda enacted, but the one thing they dread more than anything else is a vote of the people on these issues. During the 2004 elections, same-sex marriage was defeated by big margins in all 11 states where it was on the ballot. Message delivered. The only hope of the BSLs lies with friendly decisions from activist Judges. George Bush has made it known that he does not sympathize with activist Judges who twist and distort the Constitution to “make” new law. To the contrary he will appoint Judges who can be called “strict constructionists”; that is, Judges who will stay with the language of the Constitution and not take long legalistic detours to create new law. The BSL people know that with either popular elections or strict constructionist Judges, their agenda is dead in the water.

     In the next 2-3 years if there is a a genuine political crisis in this country it will be precipitated by rear guard Blue State Liberal  Senators determined to prevent the appointment by the President of strict constructionist Judges. The Battle of the Judges will be joined in the very near future, assuming that it hasn't been joined already. If George Bush prevails, the effects of the Judicial appointments will be felt for decades. If the Blue State Liberals can control the Judiciary, our country will be changed forever. Big stakes here.