John McCain Tells Federalist Society He Will Appoint Conservative Judges

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 7, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 7,
2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — For the pro-life movement, the most important issue in the upcoming presidential elections is the nomination of judges who will be open to overturning Roe v. Wade. In a letter Republican presidential hopeful John McCain sent to the Federalist Society on Thursday, he sounds out the kinds of themes that delight pro-life groups.

Just ahead of a major speech to a conservative political group, and on the heels of Mitt Romney exiting the presidential race, McCain sent the Federalist Society.

That’s a conservative jurist group that features a large number of pro-life attorneys and judges and others who understand the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe was an overbearing reach of raw judicial power.

In the letter, according to a CNN report, McCain promised to nominate "judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat."

"When I was running for president in 1999 I promised that, in appointing judges, I would not only insist on persons who were faithful to the Constitution, but persons who had a record that demonstrated that fidelity," the letter said.

While in the Senate, McCain voted for Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, but he came under some criticism weeks ago for a private comment he supposedly made saying he didn’t like how Alito has performed on the bench.

McCain appeared to put those criticisms to rest by again publicly indicating his support for both judges, who received significant backing from the pro-life movement and eventually overturned a decision striking down a ban on partial-birth abortions.

"A president should have confidence in the judicial philosophy of those he is appointing to the bench," he said.

"That is why I strongly supported John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court and that is why I would seek men and women like them as my judicial appointees," McCain added.

The letter is already generating a buzz in conservative and pro-life legal circles that McCain will appoint the kind of judges who are more likely to understand that Roe went too far and states should be allowed to prohibit abortions once again.

In contrast, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have repeatedly promised to only appoint judges who will back unlimited abortions.