by American Citizen

Created on: May 26, 2009   Last Updated: May 31, 2009

The US Senate already has sufficient power to limit the judicial branch. The Senate Judiciary Committee ,is tasked with confirmation or denial of the President's Chief Justice nominations. Does the question mean the US Senate should be granted more power or use more of the power it already has vested?

I would argue that the US Senate should exercise more of its God-given powers of reason and discernment. They are not asking difficult questions. They are not asking meaningful questions. That is the problem and it reverberates throughout the country, for as long as the US Justices remain in their seats. They are not seated "at the king's pleasure", but during "time of good behavior".

I would further make a tangential argument, that the American voter must do more to limit the powers of the federal government. We are the ultimate check and balance of power. Just as the Senate's ultimate exercise of authority is during the confirmation hearings, our power is before we cast our votes. It's the simple things in life that teach us the most. Knowledge is power. The debates are controlled in terms of topic, content and audience response. What could we possibly find out from that? Certainly not enough material fact to cast a vote.

But as to the judiciary. Has the judiciary overstepped its bounds? What needs to be limited? Congress has been overstepping its bounds for decades. Where in the Constitution, does Congress have authority over: education, art, science, agriculture, airwaves, communications, marriage, medicine and pharmaceuticals? Well, they claim education is related to commerce. But education is local and therefore outside the bounds of federal jurisdiction. The promotion of useful arts and sciences? Yeah, so Congress was tasked with granting patents and trademarks, never ever content or funding. The judiciary has to have some recourse or it has no meaningful countervailing power. The Legislature holds the purse strings. The Administration has the guns. The Judiciary judges the law (judicial review and deliberation).

One of the debaters said that only Congress has constitutional authority to limit the powers of the Judiciary. Uh, which branch of government does the debater think the Senate is in? Just curious. If you're reading this - and you know who you are - you'd do yourself a favor by reading Article I (the Congress composed of a bicameral house of representatives and a senate). Just saying.

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