I would like to persuade Betsy McCaughey to run for office. Would she not make a great NYC ‘s first woman mayor?????rsk
The battle lines are forming over Donald Trump’s anticipated Supreme Court nominee. A conservative advocacy group is running TV ads urging Trump to appoint a justice in the mold of the late Antonin Scalia. New Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer fires back that Democrats will try to block any nominee who isn’t “mainstream.”
Trouble is, anybody who disputes the Democrats’ left-wing definition of the Constitution as a malleable “living” document is outside their mainstream.
Meanwhile, pro-choice groups are panicked about losing abortion “rights.” For now, it’s much ado about nothing. No matter whom Trump appoints this time, there are already five pro-choice justices on the court, counting Justice Anthony Kennedy. It would take a second Trump appointment to tilt the court the other way.
During the campaign, Trump pledged to appoint justices who would uphold “the Constitution as it was meant to be.” Trump’s victory suggests the public agrees.
Even so, Schumer and fellow Democrats are spoiling for a fight. In part, it’s revenge for the Republicans’ refusal to consider even holding hearings on Obama’s last high-court nominee, Merrick Garland. Will the Democrats’ tough talk lead to anything? Unlikely. Ten Senate Democrats in states Trump won are facing tough re-election races in 2018. Count on some of them to help push Trump’s pick over the 60-vote threshold to defeat Democratic obstruction attempts.
Trump’s first addition to the court will have a major impact on labor-union issues, voting procedures, the death penalty, executive power and religious freedom.
On the separation of church and state, stay tuned for Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley. The justices delayed the case while Scalia’s seat was vacant to avoid a likely 4-4 tie.
The case: Missouri awards grants to help schools make their playgrounds safer with soft, rubber paving. But Missouri nixed a grant to a Lutheran-affiliated preschool. The school sued, saying its children deserve the same safety enhancements as children in secular schools.
Trump’s new justice will shift the court to allow religious institutions and the faithful to be treated equally with everyone else. Yes, the Constitution bars favoring a particular religion, but that shouldn’t require government to discriminate against religion.