The Bush Legacy
George Bush has been looking for a legacy of his years in office that he could point to with pride. The hope is that future historians will say: “The Bush administration had it's problems but there was at least this one thing that the President did that affected America for years to come.” These last years in office has taken much away from him that he could look back on with pride. He had hopes that it would be the war on terror. However, the debacle in Iraq has left his hopes of being remembered as a “war president” in shambles. The next president, whoever it is and no matter the party, will get credit for repairing what Bush has broken. Recently it was the President's hope, that immigration reform could be sited in history books as one of his legislative accomplishments. Unfortunately it was his own party that took that dream away from him. This week however, his legacy became clear in the actions of the Supreme Court.
The appointment of John Roberts and Samuel Alito will have repercussions within the lives of American's for years to come. The very structure of government and how each part relates to the other has been changed by this radical new court. The infringements of personal freedoms that came from wire taps and the Patriot Act can and will be modified by congress and overturned. The troops in Iraq will one day be called home. All the mistakes of the Bush administration can be undone except for the judges that congress allowed him to place into the Supreme Court.
Congress barely raised any concern at all when Roberts and Alito were nominated. Now that it is long past time to do anything about it these men are in a position to reshape the country towards Bushes own vision of the world. Of all the things Bush has done it is this expression of constitutional power that will live beyond his presidency.
Judge Roberts said this about the 5-4 ruling repealing parts of campaign finance reform; “Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor.” This is a fine sentiment. One I would happily agree with. However, this same court has ruled against students in Alaska displaying a banner on public land censored by their principal. In this case the censor takes president over the speaker without any relation to the Constitution conclusion made for the other case. These decisions aren't free of political bias. To the contrary they are as full of bias and activism as anything that has ever come before. The fact that so many of the recent decisions including an essential repealing of educational desegregation have been split 5-4 points to the political motivation of these choices by the court.
The most unsettling part of the situation is that Bush sold the public on these judges pushing fear of activism in the courts. Meanwhile, the administration was stacking the Justice department with Bush and republican loyalist and using Alberto Gonzales as an arm of their political agenda. Our Constitutional government can not stand for long when those in power are so quick and willing to disregard the basic tenets on which it was founded. When the Supreme Court and the Justice department are so corrupted that they are willing to justify their actions using the Constitution with fluid irregularity the ideals that America stands on begin to crumble. The soul of our country is based on striving to apply the rule of law equally over all people. When those in power, especially those that are appointed for life without fear of removal fail to live up to this ideal, the promise of the Constitution is broken.
The Roberts court is the legacy of the Bush administration and this nation will be living with this fact for decades to come. With each 5-4 ruling that comes from the court we will see the full implications of this inheritance. Protesters and activist cannot be heard from within the chambers of the Supreme Court. Small huddled groups of concerned citizens do not sway judges appointed for life. The Constitution was designed in its way just for that purpose. Only a nation, calling with united voice despite our differences, for fair representation under the Constitution could possibly be heard by these judges acting out of personal ideal rather than consistent interpretation of the law.
The appointment of John Roberts and Samuel Alito will have repercussions within the lives of American's for years to come. The very structure of government and how each part relates to the other has been changed by this radical new court. The infringements of personal freedoms that came from wire taps and the Patriot Act can and will be modified by congress and overturned. The troops in Iraq will one day be called home. All the mistakes of the Bush administration can be undone except for the judges that congress allowed him to place into the Supreme Court.
Congress barely raised any concern at all when Roberts and Alito were nominated. Now that it is long past time to do anything about it these men are in a position to reshape the country towards Bushes own vision of the world. Of all the things Bush has done it is this expression of constitutional power that will live beyond his presidency.
Judge Roberts said this about the 5-4 ruling repealing parts of campaign finance reform; “Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor.” This is a fine sentiment. One I would happily agree with. However, this same court has ruled against students in Alaska displaying a banner on public land censored by their principal. In this case the censor takes president over the speaker without any relation to the Constitution conclusion made for the other case. These decisions aren't free of political bias. To the contrary they are as full of bias and activism as anything that has ever come before. The fact that so many of the recent decisions including an essential repealing of educational desegregation have been split 5-4 points to the political motivation of these choices by the court.
The most unsettling part of the situation is that Bush sold the public on these judges pushing fear of activism in the courts. Meanwhile, the administration was stacking the Justice department with Bush and republican loyalist and using Alberto Gonzales as an arm of their political agenda. Our Constitutional government can not stand for long when those in power are so quick and willing to disregard the basic tenets on which it was founded. When the Supreme Court and the Justice department are so corrupted that they are willing to justify their actions using the Constitution with fluid irregularity the ideals that America stands on begin to crumble. The soul of our country is based on striving to apply the rule of law equally over all people. When those in power, especially those that are appointed for life without fear of removal fail to live up to this ideal, the promise of the Constitution is broken.
The Roberts court is the legacy of the Bush administration and this nation will be living with this fact for decades to come. With each 5-4 ruling that comes from the court we will see the full implications of this inheritance. Protesters and activist cannot be heard from within the chambers of the Supreme Court. Small huddled groups of concerned citizens do not sway judges appointed for life. The Constitution was designed in its way just for that purpose. Only a nation, calling with united voice despite our differences, for fair representation under the Constitution could possibly be heard by these judges acting out of personal ideal rather than consistent interpretation of the law.
posted by kamuizot at 4:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home