Our colleagues across the aisle have an interesting approach to the Judicial Branch, specifically the Supreme Court: when they get what they want, it is the final word, when they don’t get what they want, then it’s a “dangerous tool of authoritarian power!”
Many among so-called progressives feel the court system is the only way to advance their agenda, sidestepping the legislative process to achieve the radical results they know American voters would never tolerate.
Progressives are so committed to corrupting the court that they’ve made at least one attempted assassination of a conservative justice in the last year. If that’s not a sign of how vigorously it must be protected, I don’t know what is.
My philosophy is that the Supreme Court’s job is to invalidate government action, whether legislation or executive, according to the “few and defined powers” listed in the Constitution.
This is the approach I’ll take with me to Washington. This philosophy seems pretty sound, as it’s how the Court describes its role on its own website.
Judicial activism is a threat to our freedoms. Utahns and Americans benefit when the Senate approves judges committed to the proper, balanced functioning of our country’s judicial system. Constitutional interpretation must be left to the reasoned judgment of judges, rather than to passions of the day, according to James Madison. Were questions of constitutionality left to public bargaining, the Constitution would be twisted into a political battleground.
Conservative judges are essential for conserving the republic. Recently, we’ve seen the value of such justices with Supreme Court rulings that protect individual liberties.
In a 6-3 rebuke of racism, the Supreme Court struck down the institutionally discriminatory practice of colleges choosing students based on racial preferences. "Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. Hyper-privileged Harvard, a university with money older than our country, no longer gets to decide what constitutes privilege. This is a victory for every parent who has fought and sacrificed on behalf of their children, only to see their future sacrificed on the altar of racial preference.
The Court has won similar victories in rejecting the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional student debt “forgiveness” program and protecting free speech against woke tyranny.
The hallmark victory of the post-Trump Supreme Court was last year’s rebuke of Roe v. Wade, ending the federal authorization of our country’s gruesome abortion practices. The 50-year-old ruling was always on questionable Constitutional grounds, with many on the left – including Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself – saying the Court exceeded its authority.
These rulings have been victories against the radical leftist agenda, but presage battles that will be increasingly difficult to win if we can’t protect the federal judiciary from activist judges. If the good people of Utah select me as their next Senator, these are the principles by which I’ll vote on judicial nominees.
While Sen. Mike Lee is just about the best authority you could find on constitutional jurisprudence, his junior – Mitt Romney – has gone out of his way to cancel Lee’s vote when he can.
Notably, Romney was one of just three Republicans who voted for the Biden administration’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, an activist judge who said she didn’t know what a woman is. She has been on the wrong side of every critical issue that Utah voters care so deeply about, which makes Romney’s decision to confirm her even more perplexing.
His main motivation doesn’t seem to be representing Utah, but begging for approval from the people who voted against him 11 years ago.
We are at a tenuous time in American history. On many issues, the court system is the last line of defense we have. The country cannot afford another six years of Sen. Romney voting the wrong way on judicial appointments, and it’s time to replace him.
Trent Staggs is mayor of Riverton, Utah, and a candidate for next year’s US Senate race. In May, he was named best mayor in Utah.
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