Far-right advocates long for a day when the minority opinions of Justices Scalia and Thomas on abortion and other issues will become the majority holdings of the Supreme Court. Political commentators note that the relative absence of economic issues coupled with the far right's emphasis on the courts may well make the Supreme Court a key election issue, particularly because the next president is likely to fill two to three Supreme Court vacancies. Much of the stage has already been set for a dramatic shift to the far right on the Supreme Court. As of May 19 of this year, the Senate has confirmed only seven judges, even though there are eighty-seven vacancies. Third, radical Religious Right leaders like Gary Bauer and Pat Robertson are promoting the idea that voting for the right presidential candidate will produce courts that will rule their way on the issues.
Abortion ought to be over, gay rights ought to be blocked, school prayer ought to be back already.
Given all these factors, the Supreme Court hopes of right-wing leaders in 2000 could begin to become reality in 2001. One of the most glaring current examples of this judicial veto is the Court's May 15 ruling striking down a key part of the Violence Against Women Act. Court scholars have observed that the Court has not used its powers in this way since the period leading up to the constitutional crisis of 1937, when the Court invalidated New Deal legislation. It would drastically weaken protections for rights such as privacy and reproductive freedom, voting, equal opportunity and other civil rights, religious liberty and church-state separation, freedom of speech and expression, consumer and worker protections, access to justice, environmental protection, campaign finance reform and government accountability. It would also further limit Congress's ability to enact new legislation aimed at protecting Americans' rights and safety through such measures as gun control and civil rights.