Our economic crisis is the result of excessive credit and a collapse of inflated property values. Difficult economic times like this provide the temptation for America to reject its capitalism/free-enterprise system and embrace socialism. The bailout law recently passed by Congress and quickly signed by President Bush is geared to turn our economy into socialism.

When the government bails out those who suffer economic losses—it socializes the economy’s losses. And when the government taxes the successful businesses at extra high tax rates—it socializes the profits. Put the two of these together, and you’ve got socialism.

The stimulus package passed by Congress and the President a year ago—where the government paid over a thousand dollars to thousands of taxpayers—this is also a brand of socialism. And now there’s talk of another stimulus package. The problem with all these programs is that we don’t have the money to pay for them. The bail-out and the stimulus package are funded by DEBT. This means they provide a short-term fix, and that our children and grandchildren will be paying back this debt for the next 30+ years.

Of course, debt applies to both capitalism and socialism. But socialism solutions will make the situation worse. Rather than allow the market to correct itself, the government has rushed in and secured a .7 trillion dollar loan to attempt to fix the problem quick. The Bailout law will spread the loss around so that all taxpayers will pay for it, and non tax payers will reap the benefits. Then, if Mr. Obama gets elected, he proposes to tax the dickens out of the rich, so that he can spread their wealth around. That’s what socialism is—spreading the losses and the profits around so that we can become one, big middle class. But it is NOT the role of the federal government (under the Constitution) to provide for the people and to use the force of law to equalize incomes and assets. And just as importantly, it is economic suicide for a government to attempt this. Socialism has failed every where it has been attempted. That is because rather than rewarding creativity and productivity, socialism punishes them!

Mr. Obama’s campaign has been founded on SOCIALISM. His speeches appeal to the poor and the suffering; Mr. Obama promises to provide for every need and to solve every problem through government programs. To do this, he promises to tax the rich and to spread their wealth around to all the suffering masses. This pathetic appeal will undermine our economy. It may attract voters—to promise to provide for them—but it takes from the producers and gives to the unproductive. THIS IS NOT THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Mr. Obama wants to change America from being a land of opportunity to being a land of entitlements. That is socialism!

We cannot continue to pretend that it is the role of government to be the provider for the people. That is socialism. That is Mr. Obama’s campaign message. It is wrong. It may win him an election by appealing to the weaknesses of the electorate. But it will eventually prove the downfall of our economy if it is not stopped and corrected.

A bi-partisan majority of Senators and Congressmen approved this bail-out package, and both Senators Obama and McCain supported it. So if this bail-out makes things worse, both parties will share the blame. When we make our government become the provider for its people, and when we eliminate the risks of capitalism, we abandon the limited government set up by our founding fathers. When a majority of voters transform the federal government into a provider of entitlements, we will have discarded the free enterprise system and embraced socialism. Only if we cut back on the role of government can we rescue our free enterprise system.

Look friends (as Senator McCain would say), the long-term solution to fixing this crisis is to wean our nation from too much reliance on credit; individuals, businesses AND governments need to do this. The stock market crash of 2008 was caused by excessive credit and overly inflated property values. The greed that fed this disaster is not limited to the fat cat executives, but includes all the people who over-extended themselves and bought houses that they could not afford. When the majority of a nation lives beyond its means, financial disaster is bound to strike hard and extensively.

With the establishment of responsible fiscal policies in homes, businesses and governments, we will survive the crash of 2008 and the Bailout law. We must re-establish our economy on principles of fiscal responsibility and hard work. But in our haste to solve the problem, let us not embrace socialism, for this will kill the incentive to be innovative and productive. Remember socialism tends to provide the same benefits for all people, regardless of who works and who produces goods and services. This, in turn, discourages initiative and investment, and tends to drive them overseas—to other economies that do reward them. That is why socialism has consistently failed, wherever it has been practiced. The law of the harvest is the foundation of a strong economy. Socialism is not the law of the harvest. In socialism, the goal is to level the playing field so that everyone reaps what other workers have sewn. Socialism is class warfare that operates through the force of law. Socialism doesn’t trust the people to care for one another. Not only does socialism use force to accomplish its purposes, but it is both inefficient and subject to abuse, as it is administered. That is precisely what happened with the financial failures that hit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack. When the government went overboard in its goal to provide affordable housing to the poor, it abandoned principles of fiscal soundness and promoted irresponsible programs that (1) extended credit to those who should not have qualified and (2) secured these bad loans with property having grossly inflated values. Again, this is the recipe for financial disaster.

The socialism bailout package that Congress just passed is a mistake; it will only exacerbate our financial problems. We must reverse this socialistic trend by reducing government spending and debt. We cannot continue to increase government spending every time we try to solve economic problems. We must repeal and/or revise laws that are killing our free enterprise system. If we abandon our capitalism/free enterprise system, we will kill capital investment, stifle productivity, and ruin our economy.

Despite the need to curtail government spending, Senator Obama is calling for multiple new entitlement programs to spread the wealth around. Senator McCain, on the other hand, opposes creating new entitlement programs, and he is calling for a freeze on ever-escalating government spending. Senator McCain’s approach would be best for the nation.

The selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee has been a home run for Senator McCain and the Republicans. She is a true conservative. She wants to drill for oil in Alaska, where she is governor. Not only does she say she is pro-family, but she has a large family to prove it. Not only does she say she is pro-life, but she loves the Down syndrome baby that she bore at age 44, five months ago. She is attractive and articulate. She is proud of her small-town roots. She challenges the man-made global warming alarmists. She despises the politically correct, left wing mantras. She is one of us! She has done for the Republican Party what John McCain could not do—energized the conservative base. Both Senator McCain and Governor Sarah Palin are solidly for the Right to Life—and starkly opposed to the Democratic ticket’s pro-abortion stance. Sarah Palin’s nomination has catapulted the McCain/ Palin ticket ahead of Obama/Biden in the polls.

This is not good for Senators Obama and Biden. In fact it is bad for them. In fact they are desperate to stop the McCain/Palin Express before they get run over. This calls for an early deployment of the Democrats’ Ace Card—the Roe v. Wade Scare Ad Tactic! The Democrats had hoped to wait until later in the campaign to play this card, but the explosive success of Sarah Palin has precipitated the Democrats’ plunge in the polls, and has put them in panic mode. Tonight (September 5, 2008) on the way home from work, I heard on the radio three times a new ad from Senator Obama—an ad that attempts to counteract the Palin bounce; the ad warns the women of America that McCain will overturn Roe v. Wade, and that this will endanger the health of American women and deprive them of their cherished right to an abortion.

During the last 35 years no Supreme Court case has been more of a lightning rod for polarizing political debate than the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973. That case was controversial from the moment it was announced, and it has remained controversial ever since. Every time a president nominates a new Justice for the Supreme Court, the most important question for interrogation is whether or not that nominee would overturn Roe v. Wade. But, other than addressing the Roe v. Wade issue superficially, with 3-second, sound-bite answers, there has been very little in-depth discussion of this issue. Perhaps in this year’s campaign there will be an opportunity for a more meaningful discussion of Roe v. Wade than normally occurs. This discussion would be very good.

As one who has been a student of the Roe v. Wade ruling for over 30 years (including having written a book on the issue in 1977 [The Fetal Right to Life Argument]), let me share some important insights on this important issue.

1. Overturning Roe would not have to eliminate a woman’s right to privacy. If Roe v. Wade ever were overturned, there are several ways in which it could happen—none of which would require eliminating a woman’s right to privacy and of control over her own body. These alternatives would limit a woman’s right, but not extinguish it. To understand the ways Roe v. Wade could be overturned, you must first understand the three legal problems that were part of this ruling. Correcting any one of these problem areas could be overturning a part of Roe v. Wade.

2. There are three major flaws in the Roe v. Wade ruling. The Roe v. Wade opinion is rather complex. That ruling was one of the worst decisions of all time. It ranks right up there with Dred Scott v. Sandford. There are at least three distinct, serious flaws in Roe v. Wade.

First, the Supreme Court should have exercised judicial restraint and left the Texas legal matter in the hands of the Texas Supreme Court. The U. S. Supreme Court should not have taken the case; the regulation of abortion had been and should have continued to be a matter of state regulation and concern. But even after taking the case, the Court could have recognized a woman’s right to privacy without extinguishing the fetal right to life. But the Court’s over-reaching was uncalled for and grossly excessive.

Second, the Supreme Court went out of its way to state that a fetus is NOT a “person” within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. This gratuitous swipe at unborn children was totally uncalled for, unprovoked, illogical, barbaric and a repudiation of two hundred years of legal precedent in America. The eliminating of a fetal right to life was an act of outrageous over-reaching by the Judicial Branch of the government that encroached upon the Legislative Branch of the federal government (by usurping a power that should be only legislative and not judicial.) By what authority did the Supreme Court eliminate the fetal right to life in order to bestow on women a right to kill their unborn children without any consideration of the life of the unborn? The Court had no right. The Court usurped the authority of the states, the legislature and the people when it did this.

Third, the Supreme Court should not have legislated a resolution to the abortion debate. But they did. They constructed a complicated and contradictory legislative scheme to regulate abortions throughout the states: They came up with the trimester scheme where in the first trimester states could not prohibit abortions; in the second trimester states could regulate abortions, taking into consideration the health of the pregnant women; and in the last trimester states could protect potential human life. But the Court also stated that states could protect potential human life when the fetus becomes “viable.” As science and technology have advanced, this standard conflicts with the trimester scheme.

3. Roe v. Wade allowed States to prohibit partial-birth abortion. As terrible as was Roe v. Wade in 1973, today many interpret Roe to extend a woman’s right to an abortion to encompass the right to partial birth abortions. Partial birth abortion literally kills a viable fetus by crushing its skull and sucking its brains out. In 1973, Roe v. Wade specifically provided that states could outlaw this barbaric procedure. But since then, many have interpreted the right to an abortion to supersede the right of a state to prohibit abortions in the last trimester. This broadened interpretation of Roe is reprehensible and should be challenged.

4. A President can neither overturn a case nor amend the Constitution. Contrary to the assertion in the Obama ad, the President of the United States cannot overturn Roe v. Wade. That can happen only by the Supreme Court reversing itself or by passage of a constitutional amendment, the latter of which can only be done by the consensus of a supermajority, i.e., the approval of three-quarters of the states.

5. Part of Roe v. Wade is good—recognizing a woman’s right to privacy. The idea that every part of Roe v. Wade could be or would be overturned is ridiculous. Remember, Roe v. Wade is a very complex case. Up to this point, I don’t ever recall a serious political discussion about what part of Roe v. Wade one would or would not want to overturn. The woman’s right to privacy—the right to control her own body—that will never be over-turned. That part of Roe v. Wade is laudable. But it would be good for the law to acknowledge the existence of a fetal right to continue living that would have to be weighed against a woman’s right to control her body. Extinguishing the fetal right to life was the most opprobrious part of Roe v. Wade. It should be restored, and such a restoration would mean that the right to an abortion would not be an absolute—it would have to be weighed against the fetal right to life. In summary, if Roe v. Wade ever were to be “over-turned,” it would only be one or two aspects of that ruling that would be changed. Possible changes could include: (a) returning the abortion issue to the states; (b) restoring the fetal right to life; and (c) correcting the ruling that a fetus is not a “person.”

The discussion about what parts of Roe v. Wade should be overturned and which should remain would be an important discussion. I welcome it. Parts of Roe v. Wade should be overturned. But those who cling to abortion as the sacrament of their political religion—they don’t want the discussion. They do want to turn the debate into a health issue—but it is not.

There are multiple types of support for the “right to life.” But not all “right to lifers” have the same beliefs and principles about whether abortions are ever justified, and about what conditions might justify an abortion. In the rare instances where abortion would preserve a mother’s life, it would be acceptable. It may be proper in the case of certain severely deformed babies. And it may be allowable in cases of rape or incest—because in those cases a pregnancy was forced upon a woman against her will. Recognizing and addressing these various competing rights would not be easy or convenient. Extinguishing a fetal right to life does simplify the administration of the law—but that law is cruel, oppressive and barbaric. Correcting this serious flaw would require overturning part of Roe v. Wade. But that’s okay—it would be an improvement.

It appears that the McCain/Palin ticket supports changing our law to give the unborn greater protection than is currently afforded under Roe v. Wade. This would be good. But it need not prohibit ALL abortions. I heard that McCain was once quoted as having stated such a position, but I do not support that absolutist position, and I do not believe it would ever become law.

The taking of human life is a serious matter. Protecting those who are most helpless and vulnerable is critically important. If the Democrats want to debate whether or not Roe v. Wade should be overturned—I welcome the debate.

Constitutional Law Updates
September 2008
No. 14

John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)

The 2008 presidential campaign is already a year old, and we are less than 90 days from Election Day (November 4, 2008). Regardless of the outcome, this election has already proved itself to be one of the most interesting and intense of any in recent history. A year ago, we were already anticipating the election of the first woman president; the big issues seemed to be who would Hillary select as her VP, and what would Bill be doing in the White House. But, a year later, the Democrat Party has rejected Hillary and embraced Barack Obama, who may become the first black president. And things were just as tumultuous on the Republican side, where a year ago former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the front runner to obtain the nomination. John McCain had dropped out of sight in the polls, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (who hoped to become the first Mormon president) was emerging from the crowd of candidates, making a concerted effort to apply his business skills to win the nomination. But in a matter of months, Giuliani faded into oblivion; Romney quickly took a lead in the early primaries; former Arkansas Governor Huckabee came from nowhere to play a prominent role in the primaries; but John McCain raised himself from the dead, won a couple of primaries, and then in February, he staged impressive wins in several states that catapulted him to a lead that he never relinquished.

The one “first” that is still up for grabs is whether Obama will be the first black president. This certainly looks possible. However, for my part, electing Obama would be a mistake. Race and color and religion have nothing to do with my views—my positions are issue-oriented, and here they are:

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

McCain, who proudly proclaims himself to be a foot soldier under President Reagan, will employ an approach to foreign relations that will mirror that of President Reagan—Peace through Strength. McCain’s personal courage and bravery is legendary. The Democrat Party’s nominee doesn’t bring either the personal resume nor the principled philosophy to qualify him to lead the nation in international dealings. Merely proclaiming peace and decrying war is not an adequate foreign policy, and it does not appear that Senator Obama has learned the lessons from world history, that evil will not just magically disappear through the appeasement approach. Those who understand world history recognize that during World War II millions of people were innocently killed by the Nazis and the Communists, and that America played a key role in liberating the world from those evil powers. Over 400,000 Americans gave their lives in World War II to suppress the evil powers and to liberate millions of people. Failing to appreciate this, the Democrat candidate echoes the na

Mitt Romney is the best candidate for President of the United States.

As I write this¹, Mitt Romney just won the Nevada caucuses in a landslide, taking 51% of the Republican votes. Ron Paul was a distant second with 14%. All the other Republican candidates were in the single digits. Also, today, McCain won the South Carolina Republican primary with 33% of the votes (again including independents). Huckabee placed a close second with 30%, followed by Thompson with 16% and Romney with 15%. The liberal media is crowning McCain with the front-runner jacket, and are pronouncing that he has taken the lead because the Republicans believe he is the candidate most likely to beat either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I don’t buy it. I don’t think McCain is going to get the Republican nomination, and I don’t think he is the Republican Party’s best hope to beat the Democrats. And I am not ready to repudiate my principles to win the election, even if what the liberal pundits say is true. Furthermore, current polls in Florida have McCain, Romney and Giuliani running neck and neck (although the Rasmussen poll has Romney ahead 25% – 20%), and in California one poll has Romney in the lead.

I. WHERE WE STAND AFTER THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY—THE END IS NEAR FOR HUCKABEE, THOMPSON AND GIULIANI
Now that the South Carolina Primary is over—it appears that the race for the Republican nomination will be between Romney and McCain. The reason is clear: First, Romney currently has more delegates than any other candidate, including McCain. Second, because no Republican contender has more than 25-30% support at this time, it impossible to pick a winner at this point. Third, Romney is already in Florida, where he will campaign vigorously for the next 10 days—and he is expected to stress his economic message, which proved to be a winner in Michigan and elsewhere. The fact that the nation is currently facing the threat of a recession makes the economy the biggest issue for the nation. And Romney’s experience and understanding of economic issues is superior to that of any other candidate. President Bush and Congress are at this very moment discussing a temporary stimulus package to revitalize the sagging economy². All of this should play into Romney’s hands and help him in Florida. And fourth, the other three main contenders are basically eliminated by the South Carolina results. [A Rasmussen poll on Tuesday had Romney with 25% support, trailed by McCain and Giuliani with 20%. Huckabee was a distant fourth.]
(a) Huckabee needed to win in South Carolina, but he failed to do so. Although he only lost to McCain by a slim margin (33%- 30%), still Huckabee did not win. A candidate has to win some primaries. Except for Arkansas (where he was governor), there is no other state where he can expect to find the evangelical support that he will need to win. Huckabee is a great communicator, and he talks a good talk, but his governing record—especially on taxes and immigration—belie his words. Huckabee still has a mathematical chance to win the nomination, but the probabilities are poor. While Romney and McCain both have excellent chances to win numerous additional primaries—that is not so for Huckabee. Huckabee has said so many things that will come back to haunt him, and he has flip-flopped on major positions during the campaign. This will cause Huckabee to slowly fade in the remaining primaries. Although there will certainly be some evangelicals who will not back a Mormon, I predict that most of them will because the evangelicals are mostly people of principle, who support the same principles that Romney advocates. For all the reasons I stated above, true conservatives will have a hard time supporting McCain. I predict that Romney will pick up most of the Huckabee supporters.

(b) Thompson was desperate to win in South Carolina, and he didn’t. By finishing a distant third in a state that he believed to be the home of some of his most ardent supporters—this brought an end to the Thompson campaign³. He will continue to be respected for his loyal support of conservative principles, but he is not what the party is looking for in a candidate. His support will go elsewhere. I predict that most of his support will go to Romney, for the same reason that most of the Huckabee supporters will eventually back Romney—because he stands for the same principles that Thompson stands for.

(c) Giuliani has not had a good showing anywhere yet. He is counting heavily on doing well in Florida, where he, Romney and McCain are all polling at about 20-25%. Giuliani is literally desperate to win in Florida. If he does not win there, I believe he’ll be out of the running. Whereas Giuliani at one time had a lead in the national polls, McCain has now overtaken him. Both Giuliani and McCain draw support from the more moderate (liberal, if you will) parts of the Republican party. Both McCain and Giuliani are regarded as men with the leadership skills that would serve our nation well. But neither McCain nor Giuliani are regarded as strict conservatives. Giuliani is pro choice and supports gay marriage. Put all of this together, and what you get is: McCain is currently taking the support from those in the party that might otherwise support Giuliani. Thus, Giuliani is suffering most from McCain’s resurgence, and it will lead to Giuliani’s bowing out of the race after Super Tuesday.

The combination of all of this will be that Romney and McCain will be the only two Republican candidates left standing after Super Tuesday. The biggest question then becomes: Where will the Giuliani, Huckabee and Thompson supporters go? For the reasons stated below, I believe that most of this support will go to Romney.

II. THE PROBLEMS WITH McCAIN
The problem with McCain is very simple: He’s not a conservative⁴. He is liberal on too many important issues. True, McCain has been strong on the war on terror, and this is important. But if he should win the Republican nomination, I, like his 95-year-old mother, would have to hold my nose in voting for him over the Democratic nominee. But at this point, I’m not ready to capitulate and support a Republican candidate whose political philosophy is too much like that of the liberals. McCain’s political philosophy is more like that of Bill Clinton than that of a conservative; he listens to what the voters want, then he decides what position he will take. Either for this reason, or because he really does embrace liberal causes, too often on important issues McCain has sided with liberals, against conservatives. Here is a quick list of John McCain’s serious political errors/flaws that make him unacceptable to me:

1. Campaign Finance Reform. McCain is one of the main proponents of this flawed law—the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill⁵. This law imposed serious limitations on political speech in the name of seeking to keep “special interests” from having too much influence on national, political debate. The restrictions it imposes on precious political speech is significant; and the law gives increased influence and power to the media, which continues to be heavily slanted in favor of the liberal point of view. This is an assault on free speech. McCain’s excessive zeal to curtail the speech of people who pay for advertising to advocate a political position is a serious error. His goal to keep money out of politics is na