Bush Supporters Continue Call for Conservative Appointees to Courts
by Allie Martin
November 12, 2004
(AgapePress) - Christian Coalition founder Dr. Pat Robertson says an out-of-control federal judiciary is the single-greatest threat to democracy and to the religious and moral foundations of America.
In his new book Courting Disaster, Robertson gives examples of how America's federal judges have expanded their authority, reaching far beyond the rights given by the Constitution. Robertson says the abuse of power has taken a toll on the nation.
"[Activist federal judges] are bringing our country to disaster because they're taking away all of the protection we have against unbridled sensuality, against materialism," the conservative spokesman says. "They have eroded all of the foundations of our freedom, or are in the process of doing [that]."
And the courts themselves, he contends, are headed down the same road. "The courts ... are out of control -- and sooner or later, somebody's going to say 'we've had enough of this' and there will be some sort of a revolution against it," he says.
Robertson, also founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, says with the president's re-election, coupled with Republican gains in both the Senate and the House, he is hopeful President Bush will now be able to put conservative justices on federal benches throughout the nation, including on the U.S. Supreme Court. But he acknowledges the battle will not be an easy one.
"Ronald Reagan said: 'In dealing with Congress, it isn't necessary that they would see the light, but that they feel the heat.' There's got to be some heat put on [members of Congress] to exercise their power," Robertson says.
And he is critical of Congress when it avoids its responsibility. "A lot of times those guys just like to do things they think are unconstitutional, and they throw it over to the courts," he says. "That [McCain-Feingold] campaign finance reform is one example of Congress shirking its responsibility [and] putting over a bill that was politically opportunistic and hoping the court would strike it down. Well, they can't do that."
Robertson has been joined by a prominent Christian educator in his call for Bush to push for conservative judges. Bob Jones III, president of the Christian college that bears his grandfather's name, has told President Bush he should use his electoral mandate to appoint conservative judges and approve legislation "defined by biblical norm."
Associated Press reports that a congratulatory letter posted on Bob Jones University's website says that in Bush's re-election, God "has graciously granted America -- though she doesn't deserve it -- a reprieve from the agenda of paganism." Jones goes on to urge the president to "put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ."
A White House spokesman says he does not know whether the president has seen the letter.
It Depends on What You Mean by 'Moral Values'
The "electoral mandate" to which Jones refers is a topic of disagreement among political observers, as is the role of "moral values" in the just-completed election cycle. In fact, church leaders are apparently in dispute over the actual meaning of "moral values."
For example, Associated Press notes that Rev. Bob Edgar, who heads the liberal National Council of Churches (NCC), questions the importance of such issues as same-sex marriage and abortion in last week's election. The "moral values" cited by voters in exit polls, he says, could include concerns about war, poverty, and the environment.
But Rev. Bob Wenz of the National Association of Evangelicals says that is ignoring the obvious after voters in 11 states overwhelmingly voted to ban homosexual marriage. Wenz notes that the NCC includes denominations that support homosexual marriage and abortion, so he says it is natural they would seek to downplay those issues.
But Wenz says Evangelicals should not presume to have won the culture war. He says America is still a divided nation, and this is a time to be persuasive rather than militant.
