Kumbaya Won't Fix the Process

By Rich Kozlovich

Former Senator Tom Coburn posted an article entitled, First Principles Are at Stake in Kavanaugh Confirmation yesterday.  The article states the obvious but the rest is nothing but clabber. Kind of reminds me of the “If by Whiskey” logical fallacy.

He says, we treat the Supreme Court hearings as “existential, life-and-death struggles. The reality is lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court feel like lifetime prison sentences for those of the opposing ideology. If either side views the stakes as incalculably high”.

These hearings are treated that way because they are “existential, life-and-death struggles”. As for the comment of lifetime appointments being like lifetime prison sentences, that’s a non sequitur. Another logical fallacy.

It’s true the “Supreme Court was never designed to be the final arbiter of every difficult and controversial question in American cultural and political life. Yet, both sides see the court as the final decider on everything from marriage to life to what kind of health insurance we can buy. The stakes were never supposed to be this high.” But the fact of the matter is the stakes really are that high.  Hasn’t he been paying attention?

It’s also true, “The Constitution’s enumerated powers don’t give the Supreme Court the vast powers it has today.” The Supreme Court gave themselves that power, and whose fault was that? The Congress. The Constitution gives the Congress the power to determine the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.   They could have stepped in all along the way to put them in their place, but failed to do so over and over again.

He goes on to say, “If the Senate wants to lower the nation’s temperature it needs to lower the stakes. The senators can do this by reapplying the timeless advice of our Founders” and that’s to keep power in the states. I’m sorry, that train left the depot after 1865. 

His answer to all of this boggles the mind saying, “If senators love the Constitution as much as they say they do, they should define total victory not as vesting power in the court, but devolving power from the court. Republicans and Democrats should embrace, not fear, democracy”. And how does he propose to do that? He goes on to say, “the Senate should confirm judges who will return that power to citizens, legislators and local government.”

Wow! What a novel idea.  Except I thought that’s what caused the stir. The attempt by Republicans to “confirm judges who will return that power to citizens, legislators and local government.” So his answer is for everyone to get all kumbaya.   We're to believe that all of a sudden these ideologues on the left are going to read this and feel all “kumbaya” and embrace that which will destroy their schemes to overturn the Constitution and bring about a totally socialist regime run by a dictator for life and all his little apparatchiks.

He has no answer, and this is the worst kind of article with just enough facts to lend credibility, but ends it with nothing of substance.

But never fear, I have the answer.

On June 26, 2015 I posted this article, It's Time For a Twenty Eighth Amendment!, saying, If the Constitution is going to really be the document that governs government, and is the real and legitimate law of the land, it's in serious need of reinforcements.

It’s time for a 28th Amendment that would impose strict term and age limits on the federal judiciary. There are three levels of the federal judiciary- the District level, the Appeals level and the Supreme Court.

Each level should have a ten year limit with a review after five years requiring a majority approval by the Senate. At each level each nominee would have to go through the same process, even if nominated to a higher court before they finish their term in a lower court. If their term runs out and they’re not nominated to a higher court they may be nominated at some point in the future.

No jurist can return to a lower court if their term runs its course at a higher level, and no jurist can ever be appointed to a court if their nomination to any court has ever been rejected by the Senate. No jurist may serve after the age of seventy.

Here’s the real fix! Abolish the FED, repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments and pass a 28th amendment. Everything else will fall into place.