Remember the Alamo!
By Randall Nunn (09/23/05)
It is no secret that many conservatives are slightly upset with President Bush for not showing more strength and more consistency in some of his recent actions. The ineffectual initial response to the criticism of the federal government’s role in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts allowed liberals and most Democrats the opportunity to bash the Bush administration unmercifully. The efforts to help in former president Clinton’s “rehabilitation” by giving him a prominent (but superficial) role in the tsunami relief efforts only served as a launching pad for Clinton’s later attack on President Bush and his administration for a whole host of alleged “failures.” At times it seems as if President Bush is a congenital “nice guy” who tries much too hard to accommodate all viewpoints, with the result that conservatives are left wondering if he really ignores the polls and instead focuses on “doing the right thing” as he sees it. There is, however, one upcoming action that will either assure President Bush’s place in history and his standing among conservatives or will consign him to the list of average presidents who did little of consequence to protect and strengthen this nation and its way of life. And that is the appointment of the next justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
September 11 was thrust upon President Bush. It was not a planned action but a reaction to events. President Bush responded to September 11 in an effective and courageous manner. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq similarly were, in a sense, thrust upon the president and he has responded well to those events. The same can be said of the response to Hurricane Katrina. However, all of those events, terrible though they were, will not have long-term consequences for this country and its social and legal fabric as significant as those that will flow from the appointment of a conservative justice who will, over time, help to restore some balance to the judicial branch of government, and to the nation as a whole.
When one views American society and history over the long term, the decisions of the United States Supreme Court have had a profound impact. The Court’s decisions have moved American society in directions that could not have been anticipated at the time. But for much of our history, the justices on the Court did not make their decisions based on what they thought were desirable results or to accomplish some societal good that they had divined, but rather based on an understanding of their proper role in our form of government and the need to decide controversies based on the U.S. Constitution and laws. Judicial “legislating” began sometime during the Warren Court and has continued to this day. President Bush, with the next appointment, has a chance to bring the Court back into its proper constitutional role by appointing a judge who will, if a “conservative” justice, create a majority on the Court. This selection will either move the Court back to its constitutional role and put a “brake” on judicial legislating or it will accelerate the disintegration of the rule of law. This one appointment will tell all. Either President Bush exhibits courage and stands upon principle or he shows himself to be just another politician making appointments based on political and party considerations.
If President Bush appoints a true conservative (i.e., strict constructionist) justice, the country will, in time, regain the proper balance between the branches of government. If he follows conventional wisdom and political consultants, he will conserve his “political capital” and avoid naming a “controversial” candidate, so as not to sidetrack other matters. But the long-term effect on the country of an appointment that does nothing to restore balance will be far greater and longer lasting than the effects of Hurricane Katrina. This is President Bush’s moment of truth. Either he rights the ship of state even while taking great abuse from the leftist press and elites or he protects his “political capital.”
If there was ever a time to nominate a strong conservative, this is that time. If there is a time when conserving political capital should not be a consideration, now is that time. President Bush stands at a moment of history when the foundations of a free republic can be strengthened and the uniqueness that is America can be preserved for future generations. Or he can choose not to fight for the principles the majority of voters believed he represented when they elected him and just “get along.” As a Texan, all he needs to do is consider the defenders of the Alamo and the decision made by them to defend liberty without regard to expediency. Liberals in Congress, the media and the leftist elites in this country are rabid and committed to undoing the Bush election victory of 2004 but surely they are not as fearsome as thousands of Mexican bayonets glistening in the Texas sun. Stand fast, Mr. President, and answer the liberals’ demand for surrender with a cannon shot! Give them a real conservative. The time is now.
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