Justice Souter to Retire
Part One of Two

By Dave Andrusko

Editor's note. Please send your thoughts and comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. They are appreciated.

Hours after rumors surfaced that he was retiring, pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice David Souter confirmed that he will be leaving this summer after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court. Pro-abortion President Barack Obama interrupted a press briefing to officially announce that Souter had sent Obama a brief letter announcing his retirement.

Pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice David Souter

Obama told reporters, "It is my hope that we can swear in our new Supreme Court justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October." There had already been, of course, much speculation who Obama will nominate to replace Souter.

The issue is not whether Obama will select a reliably pro-abortion justice. It is whether he (or more likely she) has a paper trail on the issue--as Souter did not--and how boldly the nominee champions their pro-abortion views.

When asked during the campaign what kind of kind of justice he would nominate Obama offered warm and fuzzy stuff which was (and is) at odds with the public's view of what a Supreme Court Justice should be.

"What matters at the Supreme Court is those 5% of cases that are truly difficult," Obama said. "In those cases, adherence to precedent and rules of construction will only get you through 25 miles of the marathon. That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works and the depth and breadth of one's empathy. In those difficult cases, the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge's heart."

This is the Dr. Phil approach to constitutional jurisprudence. This is decidedly not the view shared by the American people.

Last November The Polling Company asked voters if they prefer a President to nominate Justices to the Supreme Court and judges to the federal courts who "will interpret and apply the law as it is written and not take into account their own viewpoints and experiences" or "take into account their own viewpoints and experiences" in deciding cases. By more than a 3-1 margin they voiced support for judicial restraint (70% to 22%). Interestingly, this included 79% of Republicans, 64% of unaffiliated voters, and 52% of Democrats.

A Rasmussen poll conducted earlier this year found that 64% of respondents said U.S. Supreme Court decisions should be based upon what is actually written in the Constitution. But only 35 percent believe Mr. Obama agrees with them.

In light of all this, it's interesting that in Part Two we will look at a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press which found a noticeable increase in pro-life sentiment.

Part Two -- Support for Abortion Drops