politics and hatred of my job are the only things on my mind these days.
i just want to clear something up. i've said more than a few times lately how happy i am that mccain is almost certainly going to be the republican nominee. this is NOT because i want him as president, but because i think he is the least worrisome of all the republican contenders.
i hear a lot of people saying, for various reasons, that if hillary clinton is the democratic nominee they will very likely vote for mccain. it is my sincerest of hopes that these are just reactionary statements, that most people will come around before november (if it is even an issue, which it very likely won't be).
the thing that a lot of people are ignoring is that this election is not just about who will be president for the next 4 or 8 years. at least one, probably two, supreme court justices will be appointed by the next president. these new justices will be interpreting and shaping american justice for decades to come. these justices are front line in the assault on women's rights, among other issues. the justices most likely to retire next are stevens and ginsberg. look them up. stevens is a conservative in name only, and ginsberg (appointed my bill clinton) is considered the most liberal of all current justices. replacing either, or both, of them with a strictly conservative justice would tip the balance of the court irreparably.
Slate.com had two articles today about the type of justices that Obama and McCain are likely to appoint.
Obama:...both [Obama and Clinton] would inevitably reject the idea of a litmus test, while at the same time assuming that they won't pick a justice who will become the fifth vote for kicking over Roe v. Wade.
McCain:The practical upshot is that when McCain constructs his legal team, he will have just one institutional framework from which to pick-the same movement conservatives that produced Roberts and Alito. The only thing that really matters now is that McCain has already agreed to fall in line. That degree of intellectual and institutional control should be comforting to Novak and Long, even as it should scare the pants off Democrats.
so whatever anyone's objection to hillary clinton may be, whether it's her personality or her aggression or her ties to "the establishment" or simply the fact that you don't like the legacy of electing her after her husband, i urge anyone who considers themselves a liberal or a democrat to to not make a reactionary decision that will affect us for much longer than the actual term of presidency. if you support obama, her politics are worlds closer to what you stand for than mccain's, or any republicans.
and i guarantee that if obama does not receive the nomination, he will stand up and tell you the same thing.
i hear a lot of people saying, for various reasons, that if hillary clinton is the democratic nominee they will very likely vote for mccain. it is my sincerest of hopes that these are just reactionary statements, that most people will come around before november (if it is even an issue, which it very likely won't be).
the thing that a lot of people are ignoring is that this election is not just about who will be president for the next 4 or 8 years. at least one, probably two, supreme court justices will be appointed by the next president. these new justices will be interpreting and shaping american justice for decades to come. these justices are front line in the assault on women's rights, among other issues. the justices most likely to retire next are stevens and ginsberg. look them up. stevens is a conservative in name only, and ginsberg (appointed my bill clinton) is considered the most liberal of all current justices. replacing either, or both, of them with a strictly conservative justice would tip the balance of the court irreparably.
Slate.com had two articles today about the type of justices that Obama and McCain are likely to appoint.
Obama:...both [Obama and Clinton] would inevitably reject the idea of a litmus test, while at the same time assuming that they won't pick a justice who will become the fifth vote for kicking over Roe v. Wade.
McCain:The practical upshot is that when McCain constructs his legal team, he will have just one institutional framework from which to pick-the same movement conservatives that produced Roberts and Alito. The only thing that really matters now is that McCain has already agreed to fall in line. That degree of intellectual and institutional control should be comforting to Novak and Long, even as it should scare the pants off Democrats.
so whatever anyone's objection to hillary clinton may be, whether it's her personality or her aggression or her ties to "the establishment" or simply the fact that you don't like the legacy of electing her after her husband, i urge anyone who considers themselves a liberal or a democrat to to not make a reactionary decision that will affect us for much longer than the actual term of presidency. if you support obama, her politics are worlds closer to what you stand for than mccain's, or any republicans.
and i guarantee that if obama does not receive the nomination, he will stand up and tell you the same thing.