By Larry Wiwi
If you had a chance to watch the confirmation hearings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett or for that matter the hearings of Judge Kavanaugh what you saw on full display was the contrast of principle versus politics and it is very instructive about how to think about this election.
The Constitution is very clear, the President nominates members of the Supreme Court and the Senate approves via their powers to “advise and consent” with the intent to disperse power among the branches of government and to ensure the candidates are “qualified,” in that they have the right skills and capabilities to execute the office. In other words do they have the skills and capability to judge cases and legislation against the timeless principles established by the Constitution? However if you look at the barrage of questions and accusations made against both Kavanaugh and Barrett from the Democrats it is about politics – are you going to rule against Roe vs Wade, are you going to rule against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) are you too Catholic or too Christian? These are not principle based questions but political and they shed no light on the fitness of the candidate but instead are intended as traps to disqualify the candidate.
We live best and get the best outcomes in our lives when we live to the best principles, not the desires of the moment, and governance is no different – it is done best when based on principle not policy. Principles are truly timeless whereas policies, at least most of them come and go and chasing policies often results in chasing the person with the loudest voice or the most money and it will invariably lead to a terrible outcome eventually because some policies are bad whereas timeless principles of good governance are not.
The Biden-Harris ticket is pretty clear that it intends to pack the Supreme Court to get the policy outcome it wants, it will open borders to get the policy outcome it wants and it will regulate and tax businesses and people heavily to get the policies they want, which in a word is Socialism and vast control over your lives and your children’s futures. You don’t hear them espousing the principles of the Founders or the Constitution, instead you hear them espousing division by race, gender and economic class because it help them drive their policies.
Please cast informed votes and if they are truly informed, they will be principle based, not policy based.
Larry Wiwi, Franklin County resident