McCain's View Of Judicial Philosophy Is More Than 'Campaign Plank,' Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 12 May 2008 - 12:00 PST

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Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) speech on Tuesday, during which he outlined his judicial philosophy and "pledged to nominate qualified judges who will leave the legislating to the people," is not a "campaign plank" but "one of our nation's core ideas," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, writes in a USA Today opinion piece.

According to Perkins, McCain's speech placed "one of the most important issues of 2008 squarely in focus. Will social policy in the U.S. continue to be made by panels of unelected judges with lifetime tenure, or will we have a judiciary governed by self-restraint and fidelity to the rule of law?" Perkins adds that throughout history, "overreaching judges have attempted to seize power on questions that span the social and political spectrum."

The U.S. Supreme Court's recognition of abortion rights has created a "national issue" and is "actually delaying -- because it doubted -- the ability of the American people to reason together to solutions," Perkins writes. He adds that McCain, with "clarity" and a "personal history of fairness in judicial matters," has established the case for a judiciary that "rises above political strife but does not undermine representative government" (Perkins, USA Today, 5/9).

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