In 1989, I was sitting next to friend of mine, watching the news as the Berlin Wall was coming down. My friend was crying. He had been in the Army for 25 years, fought in Korea and Viet Nam, and every other skirmish in between. As he watched the wall come down, he said he felt like his fight for freedom, and the risks he had taken, had all been worth it. He was watching his life’s work achieve its goals.
In 1983, I began a political journey fighting for conservative causes that ended with me in the California Legislature fighting as best as I could for life, individual freedom, free enterprise and federalism. I never risked my life, but I did use all my knowledge, skills and energy to make the case for the things I believed in. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost, but today 35 years of fighting for those causes on the local, state, and national levels reached a major milestone.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett became Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and the importance of that event cannot be overstated. There are now 6 solid conservative Justices on the Supreme Court, 6 originalists, 6 believers in that the words of the Constitution are immutable, 6 of 9. There should be no more 5-4 votes on issues of importance to my political crusades over the years.
I may not always agree with the outcome of the cases, but I can bet I will usually agree with the reasoning of the court. No more making it up as they go along. My mind was polluted during my time in law school as law professors tried to remake the law without the intervention of the legislative (and therefore elective) process. You may not always like Legislatures, but the truth is, as a former legislator, I trust them (even the lefties) more than Presidents, Governors and Judges. First, they are easy to get rid of if we don’t agree with them, which keeps them somewhat accountable, much more so than a judge or Governor. Secondly, they are much more accessible. Finally, the framers of the Constitution gave the legislative bodies the most power. The problem is that, over the last 80 years, legislative bodies have sacrificed their power to the other branches of government. Sometimes because the legislators didn’t mind the decision taken away from them, because they knew the majority of citizens would vote them out if they made the decision the President or court or Governor made and sometimes because they were just lazy. It’s easy to abdicate responsibility with the statement “I agree with you, but there’s not much I can do, you know….crazy judges.”
Those days should be over. The confirmation of Justice Barrett means that legislators will have the power to make decisions, and won’t be able to abdicate responsibility. It also means that we as conservatives now have a renewed responsibility. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and complain. We have to fight now where it means something, and that means in the state legislatures and Congress. We can now fight for policy without the worry that some judge somewhere will make up an outcome, and inject it into the Constitution.
It also means that all of those who complain about Trump no longer have an excuse. If you are a conservative, and you don’t support Trump, you are a fool or a traitor to the cause. I didn’t support Trump in the primaries of 2016, I voted for him in the general election, but worried he might sell us out. I was totally and completely wrong. His three appointments to the Supreme Court justify his entire presidency, but more important he has been more than just a good judge of judicial temperament. You may not like his personality, but no conservative can complain about his actions as President. He has earned his re-election.
This is a great day for America. Today, I feel like the 35 years I have spent in the conservative political fight have been worth the effort. The energy, the sacrifices I did make, and the personal turmoil I suffered were worth it. And it was all thanks to Donald Trump, the last man that I thought 5 years ago would have accomplished this great task. He barely squeaked through his election 4 years ago, but his election is proof that God has not yet abandoned this country. Trump has earned the loyalty of every conservative throughout the country. We need to thank him for the great things he has done for the conservative movement, and the great things he has done for this country. We need to redouble our effort to make sure we deliver for him just like he has delivered for us.
Get on your knees and acknowledge the power of God, and thank God for what he has done for America. Then get out and campaign for Trump. Trump deserves it.