I also published that commnentary in my local newspaper, "The Suburbanite". This prompted a Mr Chiu to respond with a Letter to the Editor, which appeared in its June 13 edition. This in turn caused me to submit my further response, which will be printed in next Friday's edition of that paper. I think this exchange of letters highlight the issues as seen from both sides, and accordingly I want to post both letters. Below is Mr. Chiu letter.
To the Editor:
This letter is in response to Emil Scheller’s letter entitled "More about McCain".
He uses the standard Democrat fear-mongering tactic of claiming that a hypothetical reversal of Roe v. Wade would take away from a woman’s the right to choose to have an abortion. This debate about Roe is not specifically about abortion itself. It's about the separation of powers between legislative and judicial branches of government. A similar debate about judicial activism is now raging over gay marriage. In high school civics class, students are taught that legislatures make laws and judges interpret the laws.
Even if Roe were overturned, the very next day, the state legislatures, which have not officially legalized abortion in their states (since Roe made it unnecessary) would be pressured to do so and nearly all of them would. May I remind readers that, just to cite two examples, New York legalized abortion in 1970 and New Jersey legalized abortion in 1972. Roe, one way or the other, does therefore not affect New Jersey. But I guess the truth doesn't matter. Mr. Scheller and the Democratic Party will continue scaring people for votes. Because Democrats can't debate the issues, they have come to excel in the politics of fear, whether it's over judicial nominees, Social Security, or anything else.
Mr. Scheller even claims that Republican presidential candidate John McCain doesn't know the difference between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. This is an obvious lie. Mr. McCain has made many trips to Iraq. Rick Lynch and other generals gave him many briefings, specifically about how to keep various Iraqi factions from killing each other, whether it's Sunni vs. Shiite, Sunni moderates vs. Sunni al-Qaeda, or Shiite moderates against Shiite radicals.
Mr. Scheller even makes the specious claim that Mr. McCain is unfriendly to veterans. Fortunately, we have a free press in this country and know that Mr. McCain only opposed a bill that gave the same educational benefits regardless of whether a soldier had served two years, five years, or 10 years. What's wrong with giving more benefits to someone who served longer? Democrats are trying to give the impression that Mr. McCain wants zero benefits for veterans. Why do Democrats keep pushing this line even though we all know the truth?
Mr. Scheller even tries to make the argument that Mr. McCain agrees with every position of President George Bush, although it's not a given that Mr. Bush is always wrong. But Mr. Scheller and other Democrats cherry-pick what they want and ignore Mr. McCain's positions that are different from those of Bush and the Republican Party. For example, Mr. McCain opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Do Democrats ever mention that? No.
I have many objections to Mr. Scheller's letter but if I go on and on this letter will be even longer than Mr. Scheller's original letter. But one last thing: Mr. Scheller wants Democrats who supported Mrs. Clinton not to support Mr. Cain due to "disgruntlement." However, such Democrats who do vote for Mr. McCain will do so because, as Hillary Clinton pointed out, Barack Obama is not ready for the presidency. Mr. McCain is head and shoulders above Mr. Obama.
My response appears below.
To the Editor:
I am delighted that Mr. Chiu has decided to debate on your pages. Your readers will be well served by such a debate.
I love his way of debating. He uses all the standard Republican canards. Roe vs. Wade is not about abortion he says. It is about. “Legislators make laws and courts and judges interpret the law.” Of course we can all agree that "Legislators make laws and courts and judges interpret the law.” But what happens when the court strikes down laws passed by legislators. Aren’t they overruling the will of the elected representatives? Aren’t they activist? Well not if I agree with the decision Mr. Chui might say, “The court is interpreting the Constitution.” Well isn’t that what the court was doing in Roe vs. Wade. Well, Mr. Chiu might say there is nothing in the Constitution that specifically says that a women has a right to choose whether to carry a baby". But Mr. Chiu, there is nothing in the Constitution that specifically authorizes the Supreme Court to strike down any laws. There is nothing in the Constitution that specifically provides for the Federal Reserve, or the FDA. There is nothing in the Constitution that specifically says corporations shall have the same rights as real people. But the court interprets a document, which is short and vague, and we all, at different times, are upset by what they say it means.
So we need a better measure of what an activist judge is. How about one that looks at it from the standpoint of which judges vote to strike down laws passed by the people’s representatives, most often. The latest statistics I can find on this cover the period from 1994 to 2005, before Roberts and Alito joined the Court, but after all the other judges now there, had been appointed. At that time the “liberal judges” were the same as now. Souter, Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer, but the right wing judges were, Thomas, Scalia, Kennedy, Renquist, and O’Connor. Not quite as Right as the present court, but it will have to do. How did they stack up on overruling the will of elected representatives? Here are the figures:
Thomas 65.63 %
Kennedy 64.06 %
Scalia 56.25 %
Rehnquist 46.88 %
O’Connor 46.77 %
Souter 42.19 %
Stevens 39.34 %
Ginsburg 39.06 %
Breyer 28.13 %
Wow! The liberal judges go against the will of the elected representatives much less often than the Right wing ones. By the way Souter and Stevens were appointed by Republican Presidents, Stevens by Ford and Souter by G.H.W Bush.
The Court just handed down a decision that says the Constitution means what it says. Habeas Corpus – the right of people not to be incarcerated without being charged on the basis of evidence cannot be suspended, or in the language of that august document “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. (Section 9, Clause 2) I don’t believe we have been invaded, and I am not aware of any rebellion.” and Bush said he disagreed with it. But McCain, intemperate as usual, and anxious to outdo Bush said, “a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." I would ask, worse than locking thousands of Americans in internment camps because they had Japanese ancestry? (Korematsu v. United States -- 1944) worse than forcing African Americans to sit at the back of the bus? (Plessy v. Ferguson -- 1896)...worse than slavery? (Dred Scott v. Sanford -- 1857).
But McCain make it clear on his website that he would not be satisfied with Roe vs. Wade being overturned. He would press on, and work to make abortions illegal wherever he could. So it is all about the Right to Choose. As I quoted in my previous Letter to the Editor, McCain says, “However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion.” and in an earlier statement McCain said, according to the Boston Globe of January 31, 2000, that he believed that if Roe vs. Wade were overruled, doctors would be prosecuted “but I would not prosecute a woman” who obtained an abortion. See here.
I find it amusing that Chiu turns facts on their head. “Democrats excel in the Politics of fear,” he claims. Mr. Chiu, really. It is not Democrats who invoke 9/11 over and over to instill fear. It is not Democrats who run Willie Horton ads. It is not Democrats who run Swift Boat lies.
As for Social Security, Bush has been pushing to end it and substitute private savings accounts and McCain has been a cheerleader. Democrats don’t scare anyone. Bush and McCain do with the policies they advocate.
Mr. Chiu says McCain has made many trips to Iraq and has had many briefings. That is what makes it so scary. When he confused Al QAEDA with Shiites on his last visit to Iraq, was it a senior moment as Fox News suggested, or was he showing that he can’t grasp the differences, or was he obfuscating to confuse the public, as Bush has done for so long. Can Mr. Chiu offer any other plausible explanation?
On the veterans bill Mr. Chiu claims that McCain wants to give veterans with more service more benefits. That is simply not true. McCain has not introduced any bill giving any veterans more benefits. This is what the Wall Street Journal of May 26 said; “Sen. John McCain used Memorial Day to defend his opposition to a Senate bill that vastly expands education benefits for veterans. The bill passed the Senate last week 75-22 over the objections of Sen. McCain, and President Bush, both of whom argued the benefits were too generous and likely to discourage reenlistment.”
Mr. Chiu charges me with claiming that McCain agrees with president Bush on every issue. That is again simply not true. I have said he agrees with Bush on most issues, and I gave his voting record. I even gave examples of where McCain disagrees with Bush. I mentioned North Korea, where McCain opposes Bush’s successful use of diplomacy, and I would be the first to admit that on the environment McCain positions are more environmentally friendly than Bush’s.
We are indeed fortunate to have a breath of fresh air in the candidacy of Barack Obama, who more than anyone arouses memories of John F Kennedy. Let us march with him into a world which breaks cleanly with the past, with wars of choice, obfuscation, attacks on our safety net, and deficits as far as the eye can see. Bill Clinton handed this country to Republicans with projected surpluses for years to come, and Republicans turned it into deficits of endless duration. Clinton ran on a platform, “It’s the economy stupid” and brought this country into some of the best eight years in a very long time. Well, can you believe it? “It’s the economy again stupid.” Republicans work their wrecking ball each and every time. Supply side economics indeed.
Before anything else, John McCain is a Republican and he is wed to their attachment to the rich. No, only to the very rich.
They can’t win on the issues and so they deceive and they fear monger.
Finally, I find it amusing how they always try to attach the label of elitist to Democrats. Let me see. McCain was born to a well to do family. He married an heiress and her father put him into politics.
Obama was raised by a struggling single mother and achieved the American dream through his own talents and struggles.
McCain graduated fifth from the bottom of his class but was advanced because of his pedigree.
Obama was chosen to be Editor in chief of the Harvard Law Review.
Which of them has more in common with most hard working and struggling Americans, and who comes from an elite background.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment