Next week, President Trump will name his candidate for the Supreme Court vacancy. In order to get ready and to do what you can in this process, we present here just a few things you can do:
- Understand that no group or way of thinking “owns” a Supreme Court seat. The basic qualification for a Supreme Court justice is that they understand the Constitution and are ready to apply the original Constitution and its duly approved amendments to the case at hand. The nominee should understand the limited role of the Court to interpret rather than create or modify the law and the Constitution.
- Recent Supreme Court confirmations have been heated and acrimonious. This should not be the case, but has become the norm. To familiarize yourself with how this came about, you may want to review the confirmation process of Robert Bork. Bork was nominated in 1987 after another so-called “swing vote” justice (Lewis Powell) retired. Bork was rejected due largely to the hysteria caused by pro-abortion senators like Ted Kennedy.
- We ask that you contact your US senators and ask them to conduct a swift and fair confirmation process, not focused on partisanship and ideology, but rather upon the qualifications of the nominee.
Many citizens tend to “sit out” the confirmation process. This should not be the case. The nine members of the Supreme Court of the United States is the final arbitrator of the US Constitution. Theirs is not a lofty position that doesn’t affect ordinary people. On the contrary, the decisions of the Supreme Court will affect our daily lives in just about every way possible. We need smart men and women who will apply the law fairly and consistently.
The man or woman confirmed next for the Supreme Court will make important decisions for our lives for decades to come. Don’t sit this one out. Get informed. Get involved. And pray.