First of all, whether you agree with his positions on the issues of not, I think it is important to thank Judge John Paul Stevens for his more than 30 years of service on the high court of this nation. For those of you wondering, President Ford appointed Justice Stevens and he was then approved by the senate 98-0.
Some have criticized him for being too Conservative in his early career on the Supreme Court while many have labeled him the leading Liberal on the current high court. Maybe if President Ford would have known where Justice Stevens’ judicial philosophy would have ended up he might have rethought his selection…who knows. But that is the luxury and the responsibility of the being the president, you get to make these sort of appointments.
Much has been made of Justice Stevens stepping down and President Obama appointing a new justice. Will he appoint a middle of the road appointee, or a far-left appointee? I don’t think that is the question we should be asking ourselves. I think the question should be the same one we have been asking for a while of our elected officials. Are we going to have more of the same, or Change?
I believe whoever the president chooses as his nominee should be respected and allowed to serve, after all elections have consequences. I would like to make one recommendation though. When Justice O’Conner retired a few years ago, President Bush replaced her with an Ivy League selection making Justice Stevens the only non-Ivy Leaguer. Now that Justice Stevens is stepping down, President Obama is looking to appoint yet another Ivy Leaguer to the high court. He already did once in Justice Sotomayor, and likely will again.
Now I have nothing against the Ivy League, I just think that making another Ivy League alum a Supreme Court Justice, thereby having the entire high court made up of people from either Harvard, Columbia or Yale, would be a slap in the face to the rest of the entire country.
Yes I know President Obama is a Harvard Law man, but we need to realize that the people who have done the most and made the biggest impacts in American Society have not always, and not usually, from the Ivy League. Appointing yet another Ivy League Lawyer to the high court of the land just moves us one step closer to cementing the elitist ruling class; an Oligarchy that most Americans, from all walks of life, seek to avoid.
So with this said, it is incumbent on all of us to demand from our elected officials a few things of their political appointments. 1. That appointees are qualified for the appointment, 2. That the newest appointment somehow blends with the court to help it better represent America as a whole, 3. That the appointee is of sound mind and an unquestionable morale character that is beyond reproach, 4. And finally, if the appointee meets the preceding requirements, the approving authorities not challenge the appointment for the sake of partisan party rancor.
Yes I know this will probably not happen and that the whole thing will more than likely disintegrate into a political bloodbath. As a matter of fact, most people that read this will immediately begin to think, “Well if the (Democrats/Republicans) had not done this…” And that would be the wrong thing to do. If this nation is to ever come together and solve the problems that face us all, then we must first find a civil way to run government for the people and not for the ego-driven career politicians.
ALL RISE,
Bill
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