Will Trump’s List of SCOTUS Choices Satisfy Conservative Detractors?
One of the key issues that have troubled many non-trump supporters during the 2016 GOP presidential primaries has been the U.S. Supreme Court selection process. This became even more crucial with the death this year of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. With the release of Trump’s list of 11 potential high court picks, will conservative detractors be satisfied?
According to Fox News, Trump believes that the list of conservative judges reflects his current position of what type of court he wants his jurist selections to shape. He indicated in a statement, that the court choices are, “representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value.” He added that as president the list would act, “as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices.”
The list includes stellar state as well as federal judges that should put constitutionalists fears to rest. State and federal judges like Allison Eid of Colorado, Raymond Gruender of Missouri and Steven Colloton of Iowa are among his picks.
In addition, Trump has, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas. Rounding out the list he also selected Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania and Raymond Kethledge of Michigan.
The court selections are crucial in this presidential election year, with the future of the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom, gun rights and pro-life cases before the court. If Hillary Clinton were to win the White House she would definitely select liberal justices that would uphold Obamacare challenges as well as Obama illegal immigration executive orders and more recently the president’s mandatory Transgender bathroom use administration policies.
Conservatives pundits have pondered whether Trump was truly interested or inclined to select conservatives to the court bench because the detractors felt he had previously been all over the map regarding his stated positions on abortion, gun rights and especially Planned Parenthood. It appears that the list of judicial picks may help to reassure the conservatives who have saddled up with the #Anyone but Trump camp.
Trump’s campaign stressed that the selection was created, “first and foremost, based on constitutional principles, with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican Party leadership.” According to pro-life non-profit Susan B. Anthony List, the list passes their pro-life test. The organization indicated that this was an “exceptionally strong list of jurists with immense respect for our founding documents,” reported Fox News.
Of course the Trump picks do not appease anyone on the other side of the pro-life fence, including Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. She released a statement and stressed that Trump’s vison, “appears to be turning the court into an ideological instrument instead of an arbiter of the bedrock values of our country — justice, freedom, and equality.” In other words, Trump has done his job in choosing picks that would protect the constitutional rights of the unborn!
It appears that anyone on the Trump list would protect the conservative constitutionalist legacy that Justice Scalia forged while on the high court. Justice Scalia was an exceptional justice and if Trump is elected and can appoint Scalia’s conservative replacement, the future of America’s constitution will be protected and survive.
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_(25218642186).jpg; Gage Skidmore