Tony Perkins, President, FRC Action, May 6, 2008

Visiting Wake Forest University today, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered a pointed speech about the disarray of U.S. courts and the type of judicial nominees he would support if elected President.

Affirming his intent to nominate strict constructionists, McCain told the crowd that "...the duties and boundaries of the Constitution are not just a set of helpful suggestions. They are not just guidelines to be observed when it's convenient and loosely interpreted when it isn't."

Frustrated by the "presumption" of federal judges to resolve policy questions "that should be decided democratically," McCain pledged to nominate judges in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

"In federal and state courts... there are still men and women who understand the proper role of our judiciary. And I intend to find them and promote them... My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power," McCain said.

He criticized his colleagues in the Senate for making time to pass exorbitant earmarks but relegating judicial nomination hearings to the bottom of their to-do lists.

The Democratically controlled Senate views the judiciary as a tool for dictating social policy.

If Congress doesn't have the votes to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, its liberal allies will find a judge to declare it unconstitutional.

(Congress')hopes are ultimately pinned on a President, who, they hope, will nominate judicial activists to reshape the social landscape of America.

We applaud Sen. McCain for pledging to make every federal court "a refuge from abuses of power, and not the source."

Additional Resources
McCain Criticizes 'Activist Judges'
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/05/mccain-criticiz.html