For Conservatives, John McCain leaves allot to be desired. From the infamous Gang of 14, to his most recent gaffe involving his failed immigration bill, McCain in many instances has sided with liberal principles over conservatives. For that reason, his expected nomination has left conservatives in something of a quagmire, do they stay home on election day, or bite the bullet and vote for the lesser of two evils? McCain spoke yesterday at Wake Forest University reminding us why the lesser of two evils approach is necessary.

Hot Air has the text of the speech:

Senators Obama and Clinton have very different ideas from my own. They are both lawyers themselves, and don’t seem to mind at all when fundamental questions of social policy are preemptively decided by judges instead of by the people and their elected representatives. Nor have they raised objections to the unfair treatment of judicial nominees.

For both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, it turned out that not even John Roberts was quite good enough for them. Senator Obama in particular likes to talk up his background as a lecturer on law, and also as someone who can work across the aisle to get things done. But when Judge Roberts was nominated, it seemed to bring out more the lecturer in Senator Obama than it did the guy who can get things done. He went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee. And just where did John Roberts fall short, by the Senator’s measure? Well, a justice of the court, as Senator Obama explained it — and I quote — should share “one’s deepest values, one’s core concerns, one’s broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one’s empathy.”

These vague words attempt to justify judicial activism — come to think of it, they sound like an activist judge wrote them. And whatever they mean exactly, somehow Senator Obama’s standards proved too lofty a standard for a nominee who was brilliant, fair-minded, and learned in the law, a nominee of clear rectitude who had proved more than the equal of any lawyer on the Judiciary Committee, and who today is respected by all as the Chief Justice of the United States. Somehow, by Senator Obama’s standard, even Judge Roberts didn’t measure up. And neither did Justice Samuel Alito. Apparently, nobody quite fits the bill except for an elite group of activist judges, lawyers, and law professors who think they know wisdom when they see it — and they see it only in each other.

Am I the only one who noticed something missing from Senator Obama’s description of a Justice of the Court? ..should share “one’s deepest values, one’s core concerns, one’s broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one’s empathy.”
I suppose knowledge of the laws of the land are secondary to a Judges ability to agree with the views of Senator Obama. Likewise, impartiality would be considered a fault in Obama’s eyes as he would expect the Judge to rule based on his or her own values as opposed to the text and meaning of the law.

It was Judges ruling in this manner that brought us the Roe v. Wade decision, as the court ruled “State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except from criminality only a life-saving procedure on the mother’s behalf without regard to the stage of her pregnancy and other interests involved violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman’s qualified right to terminate her pregnancy” If the right to privacy were as deeply rooted as the court ruled in Roe however, why then has it not been applied to other areas such as narcotics?

In order to win the general election McCain needs to push this issue further, reminding conservatives why it is necessary to show up in November. Justice Stevens is 88 years old and will most likely resign during the next Presidents office, with Justice Ginsberg at age 75 a possibility as well. Filling these vacancies with Justices who will pass rulings based on law as opposed to emotions is critical, and enough of a reason for me to vote McCain in November, despite my misgivings on certain other issues.

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