Warning! - McCain would nominate Supreme Court justices like Scalia & Alito!!

On the issue of appointments to the Supreme Court, McCain mentioned that Sam Brownback would play an advisory role in helping decide who he should nominate for the Supreme Court. As models of who he would select, John McCain pointed to Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia.

Scalia’s parsing of the 8th Amendment blindly ignores reports showing that the abuse at Abu Ghraib was about humiliation and punishment, not information-gathering. In 2004, the Washington Post reported MPs involved in the abuse “said detainees were beaten and sexually humiliated as punishment or for fun.” A recent New Yorker profile of one of the soldiers there confirmed that “mostly what interrogators wanted when they asked for ’special treatment’ was punishment: take away his mattress, keep him awake, take away his clothes.”

It's The SCOTUS, Stupid!

By Martin Lewis

Posted September 25, 2007 | 10:25 AM (EST)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-lewis/note-to-liberal-hillaryb_b_65770.html

1) I don't know who the Democratic Presidential candidate next year is going to be.

2) I don't know yet who I personally want it to be. I'm still considering. But my view really doesn't matter for the purpose of this column.

3) I DO know that I will support whoever the Democratic candidate is. If it's Dennis Kucinich or Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama or John Edwards. Or any of the other contenders. Over a Republican? There is NO debate. Nor should there be.

4) I do know that practically the only thing that can defeat the Democrats next year will be the selfish, self-destructive attitude of idealists on the left who are threatening sabotage if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic candidate.

5) I have heard all the arguments and self-righteous (self-lefteous?) diatribes against Hillary on any number of topics. Corporatist... DLC... Panderer... all of that. And people who have said that there would be "no difference" between Hillary and any Republican candidate.

6) Here's the thing. Even if all those accusations against Hillary ARE true (and this post is NOT the place to debate the merits of those arguments) - that would STILL not make a difference to my intent to support her if she is the candidate.

7) And it shouldn't make a difference to any other voters who are Democrats, left-leaning, liberal, progressive or independent. For one overwhelming reason. That trumps any disappointments about votes in 2002, health-care details, triangualation, corporate ties, Iraq policy, etc etc

8) IT'S THE SCOTUS, STUPID!

The Supreme Court Of The United States.

9) Starting January 2009 there will be a four-year period where SIX of the Supreme Court members will be in their 70s, 80s and 90s.

10) FOUR of those six are dependable guardians of our rights. And the fifth is a swing voter.

11) The two oldest Supreme Court Justices will be 92 and 79 respectively by the end of the next Presidential term. And those two are John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

12) If you want to know why you MUST support WHOEVER the Democratic candidate is - then just study the actuarial tables on life expectancy.

13) The simple fact is that there is a very high probability that the next president may appoint at least two new Supreme Court Justices. And probably more. And the laws of statistics say that the first two justices to be replaced will be two of the most dependable votes for decency.

14) If you seriously believe that it makes no difference in how this nation is governed over the next 30 years if those two justices are conservative or liberal - then there is no hope for your soul or sanity.

15) If you seriously believe that in regard to the appointment of Supreme Court Justices - that it makes no difference between Hillary Clinton on the one hand - and Rudolph Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, John McCain or even Newt Gingrich on the other hand - then you are seriously beyond redemption.

16) It doesn't matter WHAT you may dislike about Hillary Clinton - or whoever the Democratic candidate is. If you have any regard for the future of this nation - you will remember this.

It's the SCOTUS, stupid.

'nuff said. Case over. Dismissed.

FURTHER (very sobering) READING:

Justices of the Supreme Court Of The United States
in order of age seniority

John Paul Stevens
Born: April 20, 1920
Current age: 87
Age on January 20, 2009: 88
Age by January 20, 2013: 92

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Born: March 15, 1933
Current age: 74
Age on January 20, 2009: 75
Age by January 20, 2013: 79

Antonin Scalia
Born: March 11, 1936
Current age: 71
Age on January 20, 2009: 72
Age by January 20, 2013: 76

Anthony Kennedy
Born: July 23, 1936
Current age: 71
Age on January 20, 2009: 72
Age by January 20, 2013: 76

Stephen Breyer
Born: August 15, 1938
Current age: 69
Age on January 20, 2009: 70
Age by January 20, 2013: 74

David Souter
Born: September 17, 1939
Current age: 67
Age on January 20, 2009: 68
Age by January 20, 2013: 72

Clarence Thomas
Born: June 23, 1948
Current age: 59
Age on January 20, 2009: 60
Age by January 20, 2013: 64

Samuel Alito
Born: April 1, 1950
Current age: 57
Age on January 20, 2009: 58
Age by January 20, 2013: 62

John Roberts
Born: January 27, 1955
Current age: 52
Age on January 20, 2009: 53
Age by January 20, 2013: 57