Critics Can't Touch Roberts

As the confirmation battle rages on in the chambers of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Roberts has been nothing less than stellar in his ability to answer truthfully and authentically questions which are lobbed in his direction. The man exudes high moral character and a respect for the law, which transcends his personal policy preferences. There’s no doubt that, once confirmed, Judge Roberts will be a fine arbiter of the Constitution and an exemplary Chief Justice. He will practice judicial restraint and not effectively insulate policy decisions from the democratic process like some contemporary Supreme Court jurists (and his future colleagues) have so successfully done. Even though Judge Roberts is qualified in every sense of the term, Democrats will no doubt try and take cheap shots at his record.

Labels such as “extremist” or “out of the mainstream” have and will be surely catapulted in his direction. What exactly “out of the mainstream” means with regards to a jurist is hard to gauge. People who use this term seem to perceive justices as super-legislators, having the ability to usurp elected representatives and create policies they deem appropriate. Such a role for the court was never envisioned by the framers and is simply a contemporary myth which has somehow gained acceptance in the legal community and government. Such a perspective leads many extreme left wing groups to make eccentric claims about Judge Roberts supporting abortion clinic bombers and his supposed hostile record towards women’s rights. Senator Joe Biden (D – Delaware), during the hearings last Tuesday, even had the audacity to imply Roberts doesn’t consider women full citizens. Luckily, Roberts was able to take Senator Biden by the hand and explain his jurisprudence thoughtfully and with poise.

Even though Senator Biden and his other cohorts on the Senate Judiciary Committee irk me somewhat, the special interest groups are the real perpetrators of deception and ill-spirited political discourse. Their ads have been nothing less than inflammatory and disgraceful. The “keep abortion legal” mantra is misleading on its face. The group purports that overturning Roe v. Wade will all of a sudden make abortion illegal. Overturning that egregious decision will do no such thing. It will simply delegate the issue back to the states to be decided through the legislative process, effectively ending years of judicial fiat on an issue more properly suited for democratic debate. In the grand scheme of the political environment, a touch of veracity - and proper perspective - would be nice for a change.