by John Shu
Congratulations to all of our FAPAC members and friends who ran for election or re-election. Regardless of the outcome, running for office requires much courage and principle.
The punditocracy has already covered the 2014 midterm elections in varying forms. The essential point is that voters in “red,” “blue,” and “purple” states (1) voted against Democrat leadership, and (2) that Republicans hopefully will improve on the Democrats’ lackluster performance, especially on the economy.
There remain, however, three important points worth covering here: (1) the President still retains extraordinary powers; (2) liberal Democrats are the ones who are racist, and (3) those who are pro-family and pro-1st Amendment must stay vigilant.
Republican Senators Must Be Wary Of President Obama’s Judicial Nominees
The president still retains appointment power to the U.S. Supreme Court and other Article III courts. President Obama has flipped, for example, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the DC and 4th Circuits from predominately “conservative” courts to now predominately “liberal” courts. Sadly, judicial confirmation battles today are particularly nasty, mainly because since the Warren Court, the federal judiciary increasingly has become the final say over hot-button social issues (e.g. abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, et cetera), instead of leaving such issues to the legislatures.
Over the last 50 years, Democrat Supreme Court appointees generally have remained equally or more liberal compared to when they were first appointed. Republican appointees, however, have either remained as conservative as they were, or became more liberal. Examples include Justices John Paul Stevens (Ford), Sandra Day O’Connor (Reagan), Anthony Kennedy (Reagan), and David Souter (Bush 41). Democrats also have been successful at blocking Republican nominations (e.g. Robert Bork (Reagan), Douglas Ginsburg (Reagan), Harriet Miers (Bush 43, and Clarence Thomas (Bush 41) barely made it through). Justice Stephen Breyer (Clinton) sailed through his 1994 nomination and confirmation process, even though Republicans controlled the Senate.
Thus, any of President Obama’s judicial appointees over the next two years, particularly Supreme Court appointees, are likely to be confirmed despite a Republican-controlled Senate. Sooner or later a full nine-justice bench must preside. Moreover, while the major newspapers and broadcast networks have consistently cheered and encouraged a Democrat Senate to shoot down a Republican nominee, they will almost certainly accuse as “obstructionist” or worse any Republican Senatorial questioning of a Democrat nominee.
President Obama also retains the great power of executive order, and he has made clear his willingness to freely use that power. Generally, while Senate Republicans may challenge certain executive orders in federal court as unconstitutional (e.g. overreach of executive authority), as a practical matter executive orders are difficult to stop because litigation generally requires at least a year of so in order to wind its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which might
even decide not to hear the case.
The Facts Show That Republicans Are More Pro-Minority Than Democrats
Even before the voting was over, liberals and Democrats jumped to the airwaves to falsely claim that Republicans swept the 2014 midterms because Republicans are (supposedly) racist and sexist. Those arguments did not win in most jurisdictions, such as North Carolina and Colorado, but they were effective in other jurisdictions such as New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Virginia. Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY13) even called Republicans “Dixiecrats,” conveniently ignoring the historical facts that Dixiecrats were Democrats who (1) retained Jim Crow laws, (2) supported segregation, (3) opposed interracial marriage, and (4) supported white supremacy. After the 1948 election, in which Truman defeated Dewey, the Dixiecrats re-joined the Democrat party. Governor Dewey (R-NY) had, since FDR, supported civil rights legislation that many congressional Democrats violently opposed.
Congressman Rangel and his cronies would do well to remember that the first African-American U.S. Senator was Hiram Rhodes Revels (R-MS), who became a senator in 1870. The second and third African-American U.S. Senators were also Republicans, Blanche Kelso Bruce (R-MS) in 1875 and Edward William Brooke, III (R-MA). In the 2014 election, Tim Scott (R-SC) was the only African-American senator elected.
Even more telling, Democrat policies have been terrible for minorities. For example, black and Latino economic growth, business opportunity, median wealth & wages, and employment numbers have steadily declined since February 2009. Minority unemployment numbers, on the other hand, are sharply higher today compared to February 2009. Overall, the GOP in 2014 did much better among blacks (12%), Latinos (36%), and Asians (50%) compared to 2012; their economic distress was a major factor in their 2014 voting patterns.
Pro-Family And Pro-1st Amendment Voters Must Stay Vigilant
While pro-family and pro-1st Amendment citizens should breathe a huge sigh of relief after last Tuesday, they should also remain vigilant because the Obama Administration and its congressional allies are likely to renew their political assaults on such citizens. From nominating hostile judges to executing hostile executive orders to unfairly criticizing pro-family and pro-1st Amendment positions from “the bully pulpit,” the Obama Administration still commands the biggest stage in the world. Because Senate Republicans do not have 60 seats, Senate Democrats will still be able to stall and filibuster anything they want. Furthermore, even if congressional Republicans advance legislation over Democrat obstruction to end marriage penalties in government benefits or expand tax credits for children, for example, President Obama may choose to veto.
Even worse, the Obama Administration will very likely continue to stonewall congressional investigations into its IRS’s highly questionable, narrowly targeted, unfair and almost certainly illegal treatment of pro-family and pro-1st Amendment, among other, non-profit tax-exempt organizations.
John Shu is an attorney in Newport Beach, CA and author of the Law & Public Policy column. He worked for President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush, and clerked for Judge Paul Roney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.