In January 2016, my husband and I sat in a cabin in Colorado during our honeymoon snuggled up with a bowl of popcorn next to the fire while we watched the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings on CSPAN. Romantic right? Well, it was proof to me that I’d married the right man.
Since that time, we’ve watched each Supreme Court Justice Confirmation Hearing with great interest given the immense power these men and women wield over our lives and the course of the nation. There is no one in our government with more power, more influence, or more sweeping authority than these judges; and unlike our other branches of government, there is virtually no way to oust a rogue judge. Don’t worry, I’m not that dumb. I know that one can be removed, but in the course of our nation’s history only one Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Chase, has ever been impeached. And he was acquitted and remained on the bench until his death 6 years later. So the reality is that they are an indestructible and uncontrollable force in our governmental structure. Therefore, each time a judge is nominated, I watch with tremendous interest as to what kind of person will be sitting on that grand bench deciding the fate of our nation. Sounds dramatic right? Not really.
Unless you’ve just been asleep over the last few decades, you realize like I do that judges no longer judge; they legislate. They have usurped the power of another branch of government and are creating laws — more often than not in contradiction to the will of the people. Judges these days are no longer upholding our constitution, but instead they are pushing their particular political agenda. This is clear every time the Supreme Court or even a lower court strikes down a “prolife” bill that in reality is set in place to protect those women seeking an abortion. These bills are constructed and enacted by elected leaders who are at the mercy of their constituents every election cycle, so I have to assume that what they are doing is the will of the people. So when a lower court strikes down an Indiana law requiring a woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound 18 hours prior to that abortion, you have to assume that this liberal court is driving an agenda without any regard to the constitution or the people of Indiana. (This is, of course, the most recent example. The list of others is simply too long for this short article.)
Then today when Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer made the statement that if Neil Gorsuch “fails to demonstrate that he is mainstream enough to sit on the highest court then we should change the nominee,” I just about lost it. That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. I’ve had enough. How can one of our nation’s most influential leaders make such a statement? How can he so obviously and blatantly disregard our constitution? How can he disrespect the authority that has been delegated to him? How can he openly admit that he doesn’t care about Gorsuch’s qualifications, his history as a judge, or his alignment with America’s instruction manual, the constitution? Schumer cares about one thing and one thing only – will this man advance his liberal agenda by legislating from the bench and if he won’t then he won’t confirm him. Sigh……
As for me, I am an optimist. I think that America’s greatest days are ahead of her, but when this statement was made it sucked all the wind out of the room for me. I admittedly don’t know what to do now. I’m out of solutions on this one, and I don’t think I can swallow my popcorn while I watch the hearings this year. Therefore, my only hope becomes prayer. I pray that God’s desire will supersede the will of man. And I pray that truth and justice will prevail.
Image; photo credit: Modified from: Jason Pier in DC Senator Chuck Schumer: 2011 NYC Pride Parade via photopin (license)
