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  •  Clinton may have said it best (4.00 / 3)

    "When people think, Democrats win."

    A couple of thoughts:

    1. I agree that the Court has not shifted left, as much as the partisan debate in the country has shifted right. This makes it look like the Court has shifted, which it has not.

    2. When intelligent people engage persons of a differing view, their own views are expanded and change.

    3.  If you have respect for the legal precedent in this country, (which conservatives profess, but do not have), the legal precedent commands more liberal results from court decisions. We don't always get it, but the precedent will lead you there.

    Just think how proud you'll be to tell your kids how you voted this year.

    by DyspepTex on Tue Oct 04, 2005 at 08:33:49 AM PDT

    •  Regarding number 3 (none / 0)

      If the legal precedent leads toward liberalism, how did the precedent take on the aspect of liberalism to begin with?

      by Montague on Tue Oct 04, 2005 at 09:03:50 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  It adopted it (none / 1)

        The US constitution is an adoption of a liberal democracy. It was radical at the time it was written.  Since then, the long term historic trend has been to find and define more individual rights. They've also used the constitution to expand the powers of the federal government and, for the last 25 years, had a tendency to reduce the rights of criminal defendants. Most of this has been at the expense of the state powers.

        There is, now, a conflict developing between individual rights (other than criminal defendants) and the powers of the federal government. I believe this is a temporary problem spurred by the reactions to 9/11. We'll get over it, I think, and return to growing individual liberties in a few years (maybe 10-20) from now.

        Just think how proud you'll be to tell your kids how you voted this year.

        by DyspepTex on Tue Oct 04, 2005 at 09:18:13 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

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