A religious litmus test for Judges?
“But after Bush had a night to ponder the court’s decision — you think he read it? — he took pledge-mania fundamentalism a giant step further. At the summit, he opened a press conference with Russian president Vladmir Putin by saying,”We need common sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God and those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench.” That is a major — and stunning — policy declaration. Bush was announcing a new litmus test for judges. It’s not just whether you’re a conservative or constructionist (or meet the political needs of Karl Rove, Bush’s uberstrategist). The question is, do you believe in God and believe that secular law follows the law of God? In other words, there are no atheists — or agnostics — in Bush’s chambers.
Did Bush realize what he was saying? Is he going to ask all potential judicial nominees to tell him their view of God and the derivation of rights? How is this fundamentalism — only believers need apply — different from that of America’s enemies?”
