The Conservatives Have Opposed Most of the Good Things We Take for Granted Today

Today, NPR did a story on the 40th anniversary of Earl Warren's retirement from the Supreme Court, and it reminded me of the important role the high court has played in shaping our country. Even a cursory look back at the court's major decisions, it's easy to see the differences between the liberals and the conservatives: That the conservatives have opposed over the last several decades it has now widespread support!

The conservatives (I include the Dixiecrats) have opposed all legislation and SCOTUS rulings in regards to civil rights. Just to name a few: desegregation, voting rights, reproductive choice & women's rights, privacy issues, church & state separation, Miranda rights of self incrimination and procedure, illegally seized evidence not admitted in court, etc, etc.

The high court has ruled that the Bill of Rights applies not only to the federal government but also to the states--an opinion that isn't shared by justices Scalia and Thomas! [here's a link to an earlier post discussing the views of Scalia & Thomas] Seriously, they believe the First Amendment doesn't apply to atheists and the Establishment Clause doesn't apply to the states! Can we affort to add another justice to the RATS (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Scalia) team on SCOTUS?

McCain will make sure that the Supreme Court will go back. If for nothing else, the next president will have a chance to shape our country via SCOTUS for many years after he leaves office. With Obama--assuming that the next vacancies will most probably be from the liberals (Ginsberg, Stevens, Souter)--we can hold the line.

I didn't want to include all the other good things we managed to secure for the commonwealth despite the rabid conservative response, like Social Security, minimum wage, labor laws, etc., etc.

The problem is that conservatives do not have a positive proposal for government! It's a philosophical stance, that government is bad, (except when it gives preferential treatment to the elites), and that smaller is better... If you don't think that government can be a force for good change and empowerment, then you should never be allowed to get a hold of any major public office.



PS. I'm frequently updating the Meet the Presidential Candidates column (right side of this blog). Currently, there's a nice video of McCain's ideas about sex education, birth control, etc.