The Court and the War

During the course of this election season, I have more than once heard it said--usually by fellow conservatives--that a choice between John McCain and the Democrat candidate, whether Clinton or Obama, is no choice at all because of McCain's departure from conservative ideology on several issues. I have all along rejected that argument, seeing a huge difference between a McCain presidency and a Clinton or Obama one, and I early on decided to support McCain wholeheartedly because of the lasting damage I think a Democrat in the White House would do at what is one of the most critical points in our nation's history that I think I have witnessed in my lifetime. For me, the two most defining issues of this election are the Iraq War and the Supreme Court, and I think a Democratic victory in the fall would have a devastating effect on both, leading to a self-defeating military retreat that would compromise our national security and the appointment of justices that would turn our Supreme Court into a bastion of liberal activism instead of the Constitutional lockbox it should be.

Now those two issues--the War and the Court--have intersected in a way that chillingly highlights the choice before us come November. In case you missed it, the Supreme Court last week granted a writ of habeas corpus to Lakhdar Boumediene, a Guantanamo Bay detainee with known ties to al Qaida. In doing so they have ignored both precedent and the Constitution and created a new precedent that will impact the effectiveness of our military in frightening ways. Professor of Law John Yoo explains it much better than I can--please go read. Then take note that Barack Obama has embraced this ruling and John McCain has condemned it.

For me the choice is clear and becomes clearer by the hour. The difference between these two candidates is huge and the stakes are high. A vote for anyone but John McCain in this election is a vote for Mr. Obama. If that scares you as much as it scares me, it's time to support the candidate that has the best chance of preventing that outcome and thus keeping us safe.