Why the Courts Matter
As we celebrate Constitution Day, which this year marks the Constitution’s 225th birthday, it’s also important to remember that the judges who interpret its words can be just as important as the words themselves.
With that context in mind, the choice between the judges President Obama has appointed and the ones Mitt Romney would appoint are stark.For example, one of Romney’s top advisers on legal issues is none other than failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, the living embodiment of conservative judicial extremism. Bork once referred to the federal ban on whites-only lunch counters as “unsurpassed ugliness.” He believes that the Constitution does not shield women from discrimination. And he thinks the government can ban contraception or even criminalize sex.
By contrast, President Obama has appointed two women the Supreme Court, including the High Court’s first Hispanic justice. Indeed, Obama has appointed more women to the federal bench in one term than George W. Bush did in two.
ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser and Adam Peck take a closer look at the consequences of a Romney presidency when it comes to courts:
On Monday, the Center for American Progress Action Fund released a report outlining many of the Supreme Court cases that could be overruled if President Obama appoints just one progressive to replace a member of the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc — or, alternatively, what happens if Gov. Romney makes the Court even more conservative. Here are five examples of cases that are likely to be overruled in an Obama Supreme Court or in a Romney Supreme Court:
Four of the Court’s nine current members are over the age of 74, so the winner of November’s election could reshape the Court considerably. To learn about more cases that are on the cusp of being overruled, read the full report.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
Newsweek’s incredibly offensive and Islamophobic cover.
Joe Scarborough: Muslims hate us “because of their religion.”
An inside look at the dysfunctional Romney campaign.
How Paul Ryan fooled Washington into thinking he is a very serious person.
Another day, another anti-Obama billionaire spends big.
New polls show that Democratic Senate candidates in Massachusetts and Wisconsin are surging.
Study: tax cuts for the rich cause income inequality not economic growth.
Todd Akin’s wife compares the GOP abandoning them to…rape.
Occupy Wall Street, one year later.