Posted on 09/06/2008 2:14:27 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued
During his acceptance speech last night at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, John McCain told the audience, “We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench.” Most American voters (60%) agrees and says the Supreme Court should make decisions based on what is written in the constitution, while 30% say rulings should be guided on the judge’s sense of fairness and justice. The number who agree with McCain is up from 55% in August.
While 82% of voters who support McCain believe the justices should rule on what is in the Constitution, just 29% of Barack Obama’s supporters agree. Just 11% of McCain supporters say judges should rule based on the judge’s sense of fairness, while nearly half (49%) of Obama supporters agree.
(Excerpt) Read more at rasmussenreports.com ...
This is why the DemocRATS resorted to smear campaigns against justices like Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and, to a lesser degree, Samuel Alito, because they know that the public doesn’t back their goals on the courts.
What does the other 40% think the decisions should be based on? Coin flips?
Oh, I see, the poll says, “the judge’s sense of fairness and justice.” Why do we spend so much money on paper to print laws on when we can just ask a judge what to do?
Civil war II and BITS
What kind of "backwards speech" is this jerk using?
That alone should be grounds for not only a judge's immediate expulsion from the bench, but a substantial prison term for obstruction of justice. If a judge wants to make laws, they resign the bench and run for the legislature.
They are the Obama supporters who said that they had never heard of the U.S. Constitution.
Only 60% thinks the Supreme Court should use the Constitution as the basis of their decisions?
Is 40% of our nation really that uneducated?
Like Bullwinkle they pull rulings out of their UM hat.
If Barack Hussein Obama had had his way, Saddam Hussein would still be an uncertain threat who would slipped the Oil for Food embargo and broken out to join Iran in its race for nuclear weapons. Yet this dullard Obama is still able to claim he was right on the Iraq war, a war he never could have voted for if he'd wanted to.
So it appears... As one poster put it, this could be a recipe for Cvil War 2...
the infowarrior
Well as long as we keep it civil.
Where do you go to sue for peace in a civil war, anyways?
Civil court?
Exactly. I weep for this country, where 40% of the citizens want to rule by "what's happenin' now" instead of by the Constitution. They have no clue how important it is to have a firm foundation. They prefer a house built upon sand.
This is good news. The general public is better educated than the Supreme Court, where at most five of nine justices ever agree that the Constitution should be their guide. We just have to make sure that our kids are learning the truth - and it would be nice to get more conservatives in the schools to teach history and "social studies" (the modern term for history based as much on feelings as on facts) from a pro-American perspective so that the children of "Living Constitution" liberals will have a chance.
I guess this 30% want an absolute monarch; a benevolent king dispensing justice from a high throne.
Those that say rulings should be guided on the judge's sense of fairness and justice have disordered minds. If the sky is blue we should not say the sky is yellow to be fair.
The constitution, if considered unfair should be changed per the route described by law. More people should understand the basic precepts of citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, and citizenship in the world.
Your comment makes the point about how important this election has become. There are two of the more liberal SC judges that are so old they are hanging on by a wisp. These will be replaced by the next POTUS. That man must be a Republican.
Oh, I see, the poll says, “the judge’s sense of fairness and justice.” Why do we spend so much money on paper to print laws on when we can just ask a judge what to do?In China, a clique of about 20 men control everything of political significance in the lives of 1.3 billion people. There are plenty of "laws", but in reality they mean nothing. What counts is the "sense of fairness" in the minds of those top 20.
The US has a smaller population and can get by with only 9 such uber-leaders.
Problem, however, that senile 88-year old leftist John Paul Stevens WAS appointed by a Republican. McCain, faced with even larger rodent majorities in the next Congress, may only be “permitted” to appoint a similar-minded Constitution shredder. Republican Presidents have appointed their fair share of pretty horrific liberal activists. Stevens, Earl Warren, etc.
Most American voters (60%) agrees and says the Supreme Court should make decisions based on what is written in the constitution, while 30% say rulings should be guided on the judge’s sense of fairness and justice
None of which matters if we do consider ourselves a Nation of Laws. The Constitutuion REQUIRES that the Supreme Coourt rule on legality (constitutionality) and nothing else.
Either we are going to follow the Constitution and be America or we are not. It does not work going halfway.
They’re deliberately using the wrong words. They’re talking about changes in cultural mores vs the constitution on its’ face.
What scares the hell out of me is it should be 100% I am a realist though and realize there is a level of idiocy in any social group, however I think that should only account for 2%-6%.
“What does the other 40% think the decisions should be based on?”
Scottish Law, the world court and huffingtonpost consensus!
LLS
Nice to see the number supporting actual interpretation has gone up. Makes me wonder why so many people trust judges to make law from the bench.
Kind of scary that only 60% of the populationm believes in our Constitution.
Only 60% We’re in trouble.
Is 40% of our nation really that uneducated?
Answer: YES
Part of me wants to say YIPPEE!!!!
And on the other side, I am shaking my head....understanding why the education system is in the pit.....
Truth, is not taught at all.
In an unrelated poll, 40% polled believe di-hydrogen-oxygen is a dangerous chemical.
That would indicate to me that 40% of those polled are absolutely ignorant of the law and purpose of the Supreme Court - thank you Public Schools.
Failure of the Public Skool System!
Hey, at least we are still above 50%. I wonder how long it will take to get below 50.
“while 30% say rulings should be guided on the judge’s sense of fairness and justice.”
Wasn’t this the same issue that the Romans settled on the steps of the Roman Senate in 44 BC? Are liberals just plain tired of a republican democracy, or don’t they understand history or how incredibly ignorant they are?
Then the other 40% are........nutcase Democrats.
The shocker is that ONLY 60% agreed. The Constitution is in danger folks.
JoMa
How dare true AMERICANS think that judges can base their decision on ANYTHING but the Constitution? This is appalling at best!
And to think that there are people that think our educational system is working. PFFT!
“And to think that there are people that think our educational system is working.”
Indeed!
You make a pretty good point there, but John Paul Stevens wasn't always like this. When first appointed, he was a consensus-minded Lewis Powell clone, but he became more liberal (”grew on the court,” the press calls it) starting in the late 1980’s. David Souter had a similar metamorphosis in the late 1990’s.
However, if you look at WHEN the Republican-appointed justices were appointed, you'll see something else. The ones who were appointed many years ago were mostly a disappointment, but the ones appointed recently have mostly lived up to conservative hopes. This indicates that Republicans have become better at vetting justices than in the past.
With the exception of the War on Terror, the Federal Courts are the most important issue of the election. And the poll results show exactly what could happen if Obama wins the Presidency.
Most people don't know what the Constitution actually says, and how far it is from its plain meaning. If you wanted to reinstate it in full, you might get 30 percent at most who would go along. To roll back the additions and penumbras, you will need a long time and better control of the education and media institutions.
This could be corrected very easily. Just have some conservative judges become activist and the 40% will dissappear over night and want a strict interpretation. The way it sits now conservatives lose. We fight to hold the line while they fight to move it to the left. When we win the line is held. When they when it is moved to the left, where it remains until they win again.
Very telling. Clearly the left is not interested in upholding the Constitution.
Rulings should not be based on something as subjective as anyone's *sense of fairness*.
No wonder our country is in the mess it's in.
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