Michael, your statement in the third from the bottom paragraph "But, Democrats believe in using government to achieve important societal goals should refer ONLY to the Judiciary. When the Dems cannot get something passed thru the legislative process, they take it to the Courts. Just look at Prop. 8 in CA.

The original intent of the Founders is easily found in the Federalist Papers. Also, the simple text of the Constitution is rather straight forward. When the 2 are paired, the intent becomes much clearer.