As Senator Graham likes to brag saying "I am a lawyer", he should understand that his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee carries a grave responsibility for the future of this country. When a Judge is accepted to the Supreme Court it comes with the knowledge that they will possess that job [called tenure] for "life". Only when a Supreme Judge decides to quit will the position come open again. Supreme Court Judges are supposed to interpret what the Constitution says about cases they accept. Unfortunately in the case of Liberal Judges, they ignore the Constitution and start "legislating from the bench". When they abuse their positions and bypass the House and Senate to make laws without representative votes they are guilty of judicial malfeasance. The euphemism for this act is "judicial activism", but regardless of the terminology it's just plain wrong. With a lifetime appointment this nightmare can go on for forty years or more.
Progressives believe that the Constitution is a "living document", meant to reflect the mood of contemporary society. This viewpoint is in opposition to what the founding fathers intended for our laws. The Constitution is the set of principles designed to govern our society with fairness and equal justice. Since these concepts are immutable throughout human history, they apply today just as they did two hundred years ago. How is this possible?
Let's use a couple points to shed light on the concept:
- Murder is still murder regardless of what some people may think. Human beings don't go from being a "tumor" to being a person just because they wiggle out of the womb.
- If a Supreme Court Judge were fond of car salesmen he could make it legal to lie, cheat, and steal to make their commissions.
- The passage of time or changes in society do not make wrong into right. The reason we can relate to books written long ago is because wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony have not changed. The increase in technology allows us to go from point "A" to point "B" faster, but we totally identify with people that lived over a thousand years ago. Were this not so, Homer's "The Iliad and The Odyssey" would make absolutely no sense today.
- Just because you agree with a judge in a Socialist country does not mean you can start implementing his rules for American society. If you do not like the Constitution, you are free to apply for citizenship in a society where you are more comfortable with the rules.
- Freedom of speech is what it is. Rulings to criminalize what someone says is a flagrant abuse of the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitution clearly says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Activist judges ignore this enumerated freedom in an attempt to shut down opposing arguments in the arena of ideas. Simply put, you can say anything you want, "as long as you are in the right group ideologically".
Recent activities of Lindsey Graham
The 2010 Senate Judiciary Committee is comprised of nineteen members, seven Republicans and twelve Democrats, who cast votes for Supreme Court Judges. When considering two nominees by the Obama Administration, Sonya Sotomayer and Elena Kagan, Senator Lindsey Graham cast the only Republican vote for these Social Progressive women. Both nominees received a 13-6 vote giving the Liberal Press the opportunity they needed to call the committee vote "bipartisan". Bipartisan, that is, if you consider Lindsey Graham anything but a "Republican In Name Only" [RINO]. The Democrat members needed absolutely NO help in giving these Progressives their judge's gowns, so why did Graham vote with them?
Sideling up to people Graham admires [like Schumer, Kennedy, Kerry, Lieberman] demonstrates a pattern in behavior. It's pretty obvious that Graham had decided to vote for them when his turn came to vet each candidate. Instead of asking serious questions, Graham engages in cutesy discussions demonstrating an obsequious admiration of the nominees. When interviewing Sonya Sotomayer, Senator Graham announces his belief that she has already gotten the job. This statement is true on two counts:
- There are 12 Democrat voters making Republican votes unnecessary.
- Graham already knew how he would vote for before her hearing began.
When a hearing was convened to vet Kagan, Senator Graham must have believed he was performing at a comedy club. Graham's question to Elena Kagan had no bearing on her judicial viewpoints about the holiday terrorist activities that occurred. Kagan's expression shows that she was seriously attempting to answer Graham's question but didn't see his joke coming. Maybe Graham already felt so simpatico with this Social Progressive's views that wasting time and asking silly questions seemed natural. Either way, this is a very revealing look at a man that constantly refers to himself as a "Conservative". Wasting time and flippancy might be what Lindsey Graham is most remembered for after he is out of office.
Additional Sources:
Lindsey Graham dismissed claims that Sototmayor has a record as a judicial activist
Lindsey Graham a ‘yes’ on Sonia Sotomayor
Mark Levin Comments on Lindsey Graham & Sotomayor
American Thinker - Message to Conservatives: Elections have Consequences
American Thinker - Lindsey Graham's Middle Piece
Graham says Kagan not anti-military (even after kicking recruiters off Harvard Campus)
Lindsey Graham acts like…Lindsey Graham
