Suck it up Democrats and anti-Trumpers, it’s going to happen. Only the method of confirmation is unknown at this time. Democrats do not care about Judge Neil Gorsuch as much as they do about obstructing President Trump and his administration at every opportunity. It is a Saul Alinsky tactic to flood the system and slow it down. This is what the left is doing with immigration courts. The real world effect is a constant struggle and no resolution in the near future.
I have never predicted the future, I have projected possible outcomes in the past but it’s fair to say that this nomination battle for the next associate justice to the Supreme Court is a foregone conclusion.
{mosads}The confirmation of Gorsuch is not only a win for the Trump administration and the Republicans, but a bigger win for the Constitution of the United States and the preservation of our republic.
Many in America want a strict constructionist on the Supreme Court and like me prefer a justice and court that adheres to the United States Constitution, not to a party. There will be Supreme Court decisions that will go in a different direction than I’d like.
That is simply the reality of life, because you don’t get everything you want. Think about the election of Donald Trump because of millions of Americans who were fed up with institutional and ongoing failures in Washington, D.C. Americans expected the imperfect in a non-politician for the promise of a change in the way business as usual is done.
Despite the often liberal progressive attacks on the Constitution and our system of laws, it will endure under a conservative court. The Constitution is a document of commonsense law and individual protections as amended with the Bill of Rights, written by unselfish framers who saw beyond their individual desires. The left often cites originalism as a bad principle but ignores one of the key points of originalism, which is the ability to amend, as we have done before and may likely do again.
So what does the Harry Reid rule and the end of the filibuster mean to the minority party going forward? There is an inherent danger in removing minority representation, and as usual in Washington hubris and ideology overcame common sense and long-term thinking. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Democrats didn’t seem to care about the simple fact that at some point they would not be in power. Now Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others have him to thank for the next constitutional associate justice on the Supreme Court.
Looking ahead, the next battle to replace a justice will be a most brutal one. Changing the seat from Justice Scalia to Gorsuch is not an ideological shift. The court will remain as it was before, with a five to four conservative majority.
Whether it’s Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Anthony Kennedy or Stephen Breyer leaving the court next, it is very likely that in the two to three years, President Trump will nominate another judge and with only a simple majority required for confirmation in the Senate, there will be a six-to-three, conservative-leaning court. The viciousness of the attacks from the Democrats and the liberal progressives at that point will surpass anything we have seen before.
Looking ahead to the future it is likely that on issues like immigration and border security there will be court challenges that make it to the Supreme Court of the United States. When this happens, we need a constitutional court that will uphold the enforcement of our laws and the responsibility of the federal government to protect America not only from illegal aliens crossing our borders or overstaying visas is but the potential for terrorists and enemies to exploit our weaknesses.
The lower courts matter and in a way are not often discussed. With a constitutional Supreme Court it will be harder for lower court liberal progressive judges to attempt to make policy as they have done with President Trump’s executive orders on immigration and border security.
Compassion can be a part of the execution of laws with prosecutorial discretion but is not a requirement in our legal system, especially when based on a false premise as the left presents.
For the next few decades and beyond we must have a six-to-three constitutional court led by originalism.
Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City. His column appears twice a month in The Hill.
The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.