The Supreme Court and Ron Paul

Say what you will about W's administration, his nominees to the Supreme Court have been one campaign promise that he delivered on. It may be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of the liberals out there, but I believe that the president's lasting legacy will not be the "War on Terror" but Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.

Even in the most recent completed full term, a number of 5-4 decisions on issues such as late term abortions, campaign finance laws, and school desegration policies have prompted Senators Arlen Specter and Chuck Schumer to make comments in recent days about the direction that the Supreme Court is moving. Here's Senator Schumer:

"Were we too easily impressed by the charm of nominee Roberts and the erudition of nominee Alito?" Schumer asked. "Did we mistakenly vote our hopes when our fears were more than justified by the ultraconservative records of these two men?"

"Yes," he said.

How about this: The reality at the time was that a Republican majority in Congress gave little lattitude for anyone but a strict constructionist with a proven track record (not Harriet Miers) to be sent up as a nominee. The end.

Which makes the 2008 election critical. The new President will have the responsibility of nominating at least one justice to the Supreme Court (maybe even two). Rudy says he will send up strict constructionists (at least his website says so) and I'm sure the other top tier candidates from the GOP would make similar pledges. The question becomes getting those judges confirmed.

So why is this post titled "The Supreme Court and Ron Paul"?

The GOP has the Supreme Court issue locked down. But on nearly everything else that conservative voters care about, they have pretty much dropped the ball. Ron Paul hasn't and he has the track record to prove it. An unknown at least among the GOP will be Iraq. Will voters have soured on this by the time the primaries roll around?

Based on current numbers, head to head, Giuliani loses against Hillary and Obama (all 3 being the presumed frontrunners) What is an unknown is how Paul would fare against Hillary or Obama. How many GOP voters would he be able to bring back to the fold since it has been taken over by the wing known affectionately by Pat Buchanon as the "War Party"?