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Home  >  Publications  > 
On McCain and Supreme Court Appointments
By M. Edward Whelan III
Posted: Thursday, January 31, 2008


ARTICLE
National Review Online  
Publication Date: January 30, 2008

Justice John Paul Stevens turns 88 in April, and one or two more liberal justices are candidates for retirement over the next four years. Thus, the next president will likely have the historic opportunity to create a working majority on the Supreme Court that will respect genuine principles of judicial restraint and that will restore the Court to its proper role in our constitutional system-most especially, by ending the Court's power grab on abortion policy.

If John McCain wins the Republican nomination, he needs to rally conservatives by showing that he understands the importance of making strong Supreme Court nominations, and of using all the capital necessary to win the confirmation fights. Words matter. It would be good to hear lots of strong praise for Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito, as well as a promise to defeat the unprecedented spectacle of a Democratic filibuster. Personnel also matters. McCain needs to surround himself with top advisers (including those drawn from other campaigns, like Ted Olson) who have a demonstrated commitment to judicial conservatism -- and to shed those who don't -- and he needs to select a vice presidential candidate (Fred Thompson?) whose record is also strong.

-- Edward Whelan is president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and is a regular contributor to NRO's "Bench Memos" blog . His views are his own only and are not intended to represent the views of the organization with which he is affiliated.
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EPPC on Book TV
Weigel Featured on "In Depth"

On Sunday, June 1, EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel was featured on C-SPAN2/Book TV's program "In Depth."

Click here to view the program online.   


Religion and the Media
Michael Cromartie
Faith Angle Conference -- May 2008

EPPC Vice President Michael Cromartie moderated a series of discussions in May at the semi-annual Faith Angle Conference sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and held in Key West, Florida. Transcripts of the informative talks are now available online.


 American Evangelicalism: New Leaders, New Faces, New Issues -- D. Michael Lindsay, author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite, describes eight fallacies or misconceptions he held as he began his book.

 Religious Voters in the 2008 Election: What It Means for Democrats, Republicans -- William A. Galston, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and an assistant for domestic policy in the Clinton administration, discusses the importance of the Catholic vote in 2008.

 How Our Brains are Wired for Belief -- What does brain science add to age-old debates about the existence of God and the value of religion? Can political parties and religious groups use scientific insights to influence the beliefs of others? Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mr. David Brooks raise these questions and share their insights with journalists.