Saturday, June 20, 2015

Supreme Court Overreach

Huckabee whacks 'modern myth' of Supreme Court. Calls on GOP to fight 'judicial tyranny' ahead of same-sex marriage ruling, by Garth Kant, 6/19/15, WND
WASHINGTON – “The Supreme Court is not the Supreme Branch, and it is certainly not the Supreme Being,” emphasized GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, in remarks provided exclusively to WND.
The remarks come from a letter the former Arkansas governor will distribute to conservative leaders and pro-family activists ahead of a crucial upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether to legalize same-sex marriage, due before the end of June.
Huckabee vowed to “refuse to sit silently as politically driven interest groups threaten the foundation of religious liberty, criminalize Christianity, and demand that Americans abandon Biblical principles of natural marriage.”
He observed that it is we the people, not one branch of government, who can ultimately decide what is the law of the land, and he promised “to reject judicial tyranny and fight for religious liberty,” while the country awaits the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
“Too much power concentrated in the courts is a threat to our republic,” said Huckabee, adding, “I will fight judicial tyranny and return power to the people.”
Huckabee noted the fallibility of the court as evidenced by previous rulings, and blasted some of those historic decisions.
“These nine, unelected Supreme Court justices have rationalized the destruction of human life, defined African-Americans as property and justified Japanese-American internment camps.
 “The notion that the Supreme Court is an exclusive entity empowered to interpret the Constitution is a modern myth, which has flourished since the 1960s.”
He added, “I reject this idea as just another flawed, failed feature of big government, inconsistent with what our founders fought a revolution to establish.”
Huckabee also called on fellow GOP candidates to reject a decision legalizing same-sex marriage, with a warning:
“If you lack the backbone to reject judicial tyranny and fight for religious liberty, you have no business serving our nation as president of the United States.”
This is a copy of the letter in full, followed by a list of recipients:
Marriage Letter
June 18, 2015
Dear conservative leaders and pro-family activists,
I share your concerns regarding the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. As you mentioned, any decision that redefines the institution of marriage, which has existed for thousands and thousands of years, would overturn the will of American citizens in more than 30 states who have passed constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Under the U.S. Constitution, we have three, co-equal branches of government. The Supreme Court is not the Supreme Branch, and it is certainly not the Supreme Being. Throughout our nation’s history, the court has delivered backward, broken rulings. These nine, unelected Supreme Court justices have rationalized the destruction of human life, defined African Americans as property and justified Japanese-American internment camps.
The notion that the Supreme Court is an exclusive entity empowered to interpret the Constitution is a modern myth, which has flourished since the 1960s. I reject this idea as just another flawed, failed feature of big government, inconsistent with what our founders fought a revolution to establish.
As both an American and a candidate for president, I will never forget who I serve: my God, my country, and the U.S. Constitution.
I refuse to sit silently as politically driven interest groups threaten the foundation of religious liberty, criminalize Christianity, and demand that Americans abandon Biblical principles of natural marriage. I will fight to defend religious liberty at all costs.
I also refuse to surrender to the false god of judicial supremacy, which would allow black-robed and unelected judges the power to make law and enforce it, which upends the separation of powers so very central to our Constitution. Too much power concentrated in the courts is a threat to our Republic. I will fight judicial tyranny and return power to the people.
I call on all GOP candidates to join me in this fight to defend the Constitution. If you lack the backbone to reject judicial tyranny and fight for religious liberty, you have no business serving our nation as President of the United States.
Respectfully,
Governor Mike Huckabee
Cathy Adams – President, Eagle Forum
Kerby Anderson – Host, Point of View radio talk show
Tad Armstrong – President, ELL Constitution Clubs
Ted Baehr – Publisher, www.movieguide.org
Brenda Baller
David Barton – President, WallBuilders
Gary Bauer – President, American Values
Jeffrey K. Beene – Colonel, USAF (retired)
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell – Visiting Professor, Liberty School of Law
Floyd Brown – President Western Center for Journalism
Brian Burch – President, CatholicVote.org
Phil Burress – President, Citizens for Community Values Action
Joe R. Calvert – President, Rabon Calvert Interests, Inc.
Larry Cirignano – American Catholic Citizens
Clint Cline – President, Design4
Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews – Executive Director Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty
Hon. Ken Cuccinelli – President, Senate Conservatives Fund
Bill Dallas – CEO, United in Purpose
Steve Deace – USA Radio Network & Conservative Review
Tom DeLay – Former Congressman
Penna Dexter – Co-Host, Point of View Radio Show
James C. Dobson, Ph.D. – Founder and President, Family Talk
Tim Von Dohlen – President, St. John Paul II Life Center
Ken and Roberta Eldred – Living Stones Foundation
Bob Ellis – CEO, Dakota Voice LLC
Tricia Erickson – President, Angel Pictures & Publicity Publisher
William A. Estrada – Director of Federal Relations, Home School Legal Defense Association
Carol Everett – Chief Executive Officer, The Heidi Group
Kristin Fecteau – Co-Founder, Campaign to Free America
William J. Federer
Robert K. Fischer – Meeting Coordinator, Conservatives of Faith
Mark Fitzgibbons – President of Corporate Affairs, American Target Advertising, Inc.
Richard Ford – President, Heritage Alliance
Kevin Freeman
Dr. Jim Garlow – Pastor, Skyline Church
Gina Gleason – Executive Director, Faith and Public Policy
Thomas A. Glessner – President, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
Kristan Hawkins – President, Students for Life of America
Kirk Hays
Donna Hearne – Constitutional Coalition
Dr. Carl Herbster – AdvanceUSA
Chuck Hurley, J.D. – Vice-president and Chief Counsel, The Family Leader
Harry R. Jackson Jr. – Hope Christian Church and The High Impact Leadership Coalition
Jerry A. Johnson, Ph.D. – President and CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
Finn Laursen – Executive Director, Christian Educators Association International
Dr. Richard Lee – There’s Hope America
Dr. Richard Land – Southern Evangelical Seminary
Tim LeFever – Chairman, Capitol Resource Institute
Loren Leman – Former Legislator and Lieutenant Governor, Alaska
Matt Mackowiak – Fight For Tomorrow
Joseph Mattera
Bradley Mattes – President, Life Issues Institute
Kevin McGary – Chairman and President, Frederick Douglass Foundation of Ca.
Joe Miller – President, Restoring Liberty
Tom Minnery – President & CEO, Citizenlink
Len Munsil, J.D. – President, Arizona Christian University
William J. Murray – Chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition
Penny Nance – President and CEO, Concerned Women for America
Rev. Dean Nelson – Chairman, Frederick Douglass Foundation
Troy Newman – President, Operation Rescue and ProLife Nation
C. Preston Noell, III – President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Paige Patterson, PhD – President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bob Pearle – Birchman Baptist Church
Tony Perkins – President, Family Research Council President, Council for National Policy
Judson Phillips – Tea Party Nation
Everett Piper – President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bob Vander Plaats – President/CEO, The FAMiLY LEADER
Janet (Folger) Porter – Producer and Documentarian
Dr. Robert (Bob) Reccord – Former Executive Director, Council for National Policy
Elizabeth B. Rex, Ph.D., MBA – President, The Children First Foundation
Richard Rios – Christian Coalition, California Chairman
Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt – Congregation Ohr Ha Torah, Dallas, TX
Austin Ruse – President, Center for Family & Human Rights
Nancy Schulze – Founder, Republican Congressional Wives Speakers
Mat Staver – Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Steve Strang – CEO/Founder, Charisma Media
Frank & Sarah Teed – Arkansas Eye Surgery
Eric Teetsel – Executive Director, Manhattan Declaration
Mark Tooley – President, Institute on Religion and Democracy
Patrick A. Trueman – Attorney at Law, Washington, DC
Richard A Viguerie – Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
Eric M. Wallace, PhD – President & Co-founder, Freedom’s Journal Institute
Jennifer L. Wallace – Co-founder, Freedom’s Journal Institute
C. Richard Wells – President, John Witherspoon College Rapid City, South Dakota
C. Frederick Wehba – Founder, Bentley Forbes
Dr. Donald E. Wildmon – Founder and Chairman Emeritus, American Family Association
Tim Wildmon – President, American Family Association
Walt Wilson – Founder & Chairman, Global Media Outreach
Follow Garth Kant @DCgarth
Garth Kant is WND Washington news editor. Previously, he spent five years writing, copy-editing and producing at "CNN Headline News," three years writing, copy-editing and training writers at MSNBC, and also served several local TV newsrooms as producer, executive producer and assistant news director. He is the author of the McGraw-Hill textbook, "How to Write Television News."
Comments
The Supreme Court is empowered by the US Constitution (as written) to decide cases that are limited to the enumerated powers of the federal government, granted by the states. The Court renders an “opinion”.  If Congress disagrees, then Congress is required to pass a law to clarify the issue.  Defining marriage is not one of those enumerated powers of the federal or its court.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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