I’ve been watching the Judge Gorsuch confirmation hearings.
The takeaway I have from Judge Gorsuch is that he is a man that believes in the letter of the law. He has no interest in being an activist or making his decisions based on the direction that the winds of politics blow.
This has Democrats apoplectic.
Compare Gorsuch’s statements with that of Judge Sotomayor.
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
She never mentioned the rule of law once. For her, a law was mutable to conform to her sympathy for the participants in a case. Probably on the grounds of identity politics.
This hearing is about much more than confirming Gorsuch. It is a battle of the rule of law versus the rule of feelz.
This battle is being fought on every front in this administration.
Can cities ignore federal immigration laws because they have the sadz for drug dealers and rapists from Mexico and terrorists from the Middle East?
Is the right to keep and bear arms something that shall not be infringed even if it gives Democrats the scaredz?
If the Republicans waffle on Gorsuch, it will show the people that we have chosen to a nation that cannot rely on the law to be applied equally, became the interpretation of the law will be applied in a capricious way.
While in general I’m sympathetic to your position, and am an avowed originalist/textualist, I’d point out the idea that one can simply “discover” the “correct” letter of the law is, in the most difficult and important cases, impossible. There is simply one absolute “right” answer, and the letter of the law is at times what bastards and tyrants wrap themselves in. Whetehr we like to admit it, a judge’s political views and personal experiences do effect their view of the law, even when we don’t admit it.
It’s never as simply as “just calling balls and strikes,” as Justice Roberts put it.
And as a defense attorney and a great believer in the Bill of Rights and limited government, while I don’t agree with all of Justice Sotomayer’s positions, when it comes to reigning in police and the State, she’s been a good judge for civil liberties. So was Scalia.
End of the day, after all the caterwalling and whining, and the various parties posturing to their base, Gorsuch is going to be confirmed. The only real question is whether it will take the nuclear option, and gutting the fillibuster once and for all to do it.
Democrats may regret what can of worms Harry Reid opened for them. Be careful, ladies and gentlemen,what you wish for.