Al Franken, Constitutional Scholar?

Written by Richard Viguerie

Upon joining the Senate, Al Franken (whom I know and enjoy, despite our vast ideological differences) was named to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will conduct hearings on all of President Obama’s judicial nominees. This gives Democrats a 13 – 7 edge over Republicans on that committee.

Al Franken is very intelligent, but he’s no constitutional scholar.

So what are this freshman senator’s qualifications for such a vaunted committee assignment?

He’s an intense ideologue.

This demonstrates the seriousness of the Democrats’ political agenda on judicial appointments. President Obama and the Democrats want judges who will work outside the democratic process to change laws and constitutional principles.

Democrats want to radically transform America away from democratic accountability to control by the political establishment. They have already rushed through major legislation into law before people had a chance to read it -- and object -- and now they want leftist judges who will give laws the most expansive reading in favor of the political establishment, use foreign law to interpret our Constitution, and essentially undo what our Founders created.

Senate Republicans need to clue in and get serious about fighting President Obama’s judicial nominees, starting with Sonia Sotomayor, and start using the judicial confirmation process to explain the role of judges and why judges cannot make law.

They need to begin with slowing down the process until after the congressional August recess, so Americans can learn more about who will be appointed to our 'third branch' of government.

If Republicans care about ever regaining a majority in Congress, they will use the judicial confirmation process to explain that what President Obama and the Democrats are trying to do is not merely bad policy, but dangerous to our freedoms.