FreeDuck wrote:Finn dAbuzz wrote:There is a place for federal power (foreign affairs and the military to name two places) but if government is to intrude upon our lives (yours and mine), the closer it is to the influence of our individual votes the better.
I agree.
Quote:The logical, and actual, extension of Liberal elitism is to not only scorn local government but to bypass the feds and seek an advancement of their ideals through the courts.
Perhaps they feel, rightly or wrongly, that both local and federal governments are inaccessible to the people they serve.
Perhaps, but I think not.
They have the same chance and degree of accessibility as anyone. There are very liberal local governments, and there are very conservative local governments. A liberal may or may not have much access to the latter, but certainly no more and no less than a conservative to the former. If either want to live in a community that reflects their personal values they can recruit heavily or move. They can, of course, also choose to hold themselves apart from their community and live their personal values within their homestead.
At the point where the community, left or right, intrudes upon the homestead is the point where the Courts should become involved. No one should be allowed to torture their children with their homestead, but they should be able to have sex, within that homestead, with whatever competent adult may agree to embrace them.
There are loads of Liberal Senators and Representatives at the federal level who represent the interests of Liberal constituents. This is access.
If these representatives cannot carry the political day for a given Liberal cause, it is not demonstrative of a lack of access.
Resorting to the Courts for what cannot be achieved in the legislature is sometime required but more often self-absorbed, un-democratic pique.
Should Bush have the opportunity to appoint one more SC justice, a conservative majority will be assured for decades to come. Should Liberals ever regain control of the other two branches, we can probably expect conservatives to avail themselves of the Court's power, but won't the Liberals howl?
Frankly, I do believe conservatives will rely on the SC less than liberals, but some will. Sometimes they will be justified but more often it will be an expression of self-absorbed, un-democratic pique.
