United States of America security is in the most precarious position it has ever been in the history of our democracy.

A global pandemic rages while citizens’ witness a civil war between the two major parties, Republicans and Democrats. President Trump and his loyal Trumpians (loyal former Republicans) continue to create fear and division. Trump makes it clear he wants to rule as an autocrat and will not accept defeat of his presidency. In other words, he plans to challenge the vote in the Supreme Court if he doesn’t win the election.

Trump stopped all negotiations in congress for COVID relief, devastating millions of people who need food, housing, and healthcare during the pandemic.
Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Barrett is his major priority. Obviously the suffering of the people does not take priority over this Supreme Court nomination.

Judge Amy Barrett is in a confirmation hearing today while citizens are in the middle of voting for the new president of the United States. Citizens are left with no economic relief since the end of July 2020. Many are going through their hard earned saving just to survive, while a presidential election is weeks away.

Republicans consider Judge Barrett’s nomination takes priority to the critical needs of the people. Judge Barrett is a conservative originalist, which the Republicans believe will lean in favor of reversing Roe vs. Wade, abolishing the Affordable Care Act, and Gay and LBGQ rights. read more

Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) finally exposes the Republicans corrupt manipulation of the courts in their favor through dark money. Republicans are known to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Citizens vs. United on 6/25/2013. Dark money from special interests has corrupted the courts. Wealthy Republicans created the “Federalist Society” as a think tank to influence the nomination of federal judges who represented their conservative right wing values and ideology. Judge Amy Barrett is an anti-abortion, pro-life judge. When she is nominated to the Supreme Court, the court will be represented in totality by right-wing conservative judges leaving no room for opposing opinions. Our country is not being served well by such a Supreme Court. Something has to change in the name of fairness and justice.

I remember watching and waiting for years for the courts to rule on campaign reform. Campaign reform became law and gave more power to the people for equal protection of our voting rights. Presidential campaigns were more civilized and relatively free of dark money influences. I firmly believe that reinstating campaign reform will bring American citizens a more equal and fair elections.read more

Senator Cruz responded to Senator Whitehouse by accusing Democrats of similar behavior with regard to dark money. He was vague in his response to prove his point. Then he upholds the reversal of Citizens vs. United. Cruz quickly changes topic to the second amendment and religious liberty.

Listening to Senator Cruz talk about Bill of Rights and the Constitution validates my conviction that serious changes must be made within the Executive, Judiciary, and Senatorial branches’ of our government. The United States Congress must have more power and respect, since it directly is the voice of the people.

Our constitution should be updated to reflect our lives in the twentieth century. Today, laws can be reversed to easily. Laws that affect the lives of millions should be made constitutional amendments, such as Roe vs. Wade and election reform to conserve voting rights, as in Citizens vs. United. The majority of the people want Roe vs. Wade to become constitutional law, and thereby circumventing any challenge to reverse abortion rights in America.

The Supreme Court affects citizens’ lives much more than any law set forth by the three branches of government. As the highest court in the land it is able to make the final decision about an issue of law presented before it. If a law is considered unconstitutional, it may be reversed by congress depending on the supreme court’s final decision.

My conclusion is based on common sense and reason. Supreme Court judges are people with their individual philosophies and biases, yet they are expected to be impartial, without political, sociological influences, and personal convictions when making judgments that affects the whole of our society. I believe this is an impossible human request.

A suggested remedy is to vet possible judges for past evidence of judicial impartiality, add judges to the Supreme Court appointed “by the people”, and limit appointments to ten years. Senators and congressmen should serve four years each in their respective seats, just like the president.

Common Law relies on precedent, or “stare decisis”, meaning that judges interpret and apply laws based on the precedent established by past court rulings. Following precedent is not absolutely binding, and not always followed. Law is not inflexible. Laws can be changed through amendment to the constitution. In my point of view, which reflects the majority of Americans, Roe vs. Wade should become an amendment to our constitution, insuring no future legal challenges.

A problem arises when there is no precedent for a case presented, which maybe a case interpreting future issues of law. Times have changed since the establishment of the Bill of Rights. Our constitution doesn’t adequately reflect, or represent the changes in modern society. The attempt to twist the meaning of our constitution to fit the legal needs of a changing society is painfully tedious, in many cases impossible. Many modern nations are much more proactive in updating their constitutions’ to insure the laws enacted reflect the needs of the majority of their people within the context of their present lives.

The Trump presidency has made light of all reasons our Federal Law is proving to be weak and inconsistent. Governmental norms have broken down because of presidential non-compliance. All these norms that so many of our previous presidents honored should be made federal law to prevent this American political tragedy never happens again.

A perfect example of this is the emoluments clause in the constitution with regard to nepotism and accepting gifts from foreign entities within the White House. President Trump simply ignored the emoluments clause by hiring family members to high positions within his cabinet and accepted gifts of money and support from many foreign groups. In the future, federal law can eliminate this issue. Many weak statues should be reviewed and possibly changed to ensure this travesty never happens again.

Federal law must be reviewed and changed to fit our nation’s needs and to protect our people from ever having the pain we have endured under President Trump.

by Anya Morgan 10-14-2020