I am by no means a big Trump supporter. I wanted Marco Rubio to be our presidential candidate for the Republican Party. With Trump as our nominee, he will be getting my vote, but not for the reasons many think. Yes, I am conservative and agree with many of the policies he wants to implement or maintain, but I also have my disagreements with how he wants to execute them or goes about talking about them. The real reason my vote is going to Donald Trump is primarily due to the Supreme Court.
Antonin Scalia served on the Supreme Court for 30 years. He was considered by many as a model of judicial restraint, as well as being a textualist, someone who looks at the direct wording of the law for its interpretation, and an originalist, someone who views the laws of the Constitution as they were intended at the time of their enactment. Others considered him to be a purely conservative judge, often forgetting his he did not always completely side with a "conservative majority" decisions. Upon his passing last February, there is now a vacancy in the now 8 person court for the next president to fill.
I admired Scalia for his dedication to the use and promotion of judicial restraint. It is this reason I am casting my ballot for Trump this November. He is the candidate most likely to nominate a judge that exercises judicial restraint. Personally, I see the conservative appointed judges practice more judicial restraint than I see liberal appointed justices do. As a consequence, I also see liberal appointed judges pursue judicial activism more often than not.
Judicial activism is proof that politics has bled into our court systems. This form of activism can be summed up as legislating from the bench. Neither side is completely innocent of this either. Thus, it is difficult to find a truly impartial justice to serve on the Supreme Court. As it has been for many years, presidents will choose judges whose ruling closely coincide with their politics. As I mentioned earlier though, I see conservative judges act with more restraint, especially in the higher courts.
When you cast your vote this November, remember that you are not just deciding the president and vice president of the United States, but that you are also playing a part in the future direction of our judicial system. The next president might not just fill Scalia's vacancy, but also one or two other justices. That will affect how our highest court operates for the next several decades not only affecting us, but our children as well. It is imperative that you think of this as you decide whether or not you want to vote for Donald Trump. So to the conservative and libertarian #NeverTrump crowd, maybe you should switch over to the #NotTrumpYesSCOTUS mentality. That might be just what actually keeps America great.
