A paramount issue during this election is the next president's role in filling court vacancies. Why are the courts so important? The legal achievements and the general law as we have come to know it over the last 50 to 70 years may be overturned and destroyed.
Everything from Miranda to Roe, workers' rights to civil rights, separation of church and state to environmental protection laws and freedom of speech are in jeopardy. If George W. Bush has his way, he'll fill the courts with right-wing extremists.
John Kerry must and will nominate moderate justices because, assuming that the Senate's composition remains the same, Republicans will maintain the Senate majority. This will force Kerry to nominate moderate justices because the Republican majority will immediately reject any other nominee.
Even if Democrats regain the Senate majority, Kerry knows that the average person and senator is politically and ideologically moderate and anything but a moderate nominee would be unsuccessful.
George W. Bush, on the other hand, would be a lame duck and most likely not have to deal with a Democratic Senate, which would give him a virtually unchecked and extremely dangerous power to appoint judicial nominees. With so much riding on many 5-4 or 6-3 Supreme Court decisions, it is imperative that we elect John Kerry in November to prevent damage to generations of legal milestones and maintain moderation and integrity in the courts.
DAN MONAHAN
archive