July 1, 2005 is a date that will probably not be recorded in the history books. However, it may well turn out to have been a major turning point in American government. Sandra Day O’Connor, moderate Supreme Court Justice, frequent swing vote and protector of the establishment clause, announced her retirement, giving George W. Bush his first vacancy on the high court. This sets the stage for what is likely to be one of the most bitter and divisive confirmation fights in history.

The stakes are high. The Christian right now has de facto control of the executive branch and both houses of Congress. All that remains for a clean sweep of the federal government is to gain a majority in the Supreme Court. If Bush succeeds in appointing another Thomas or Scalia (we’ll call such a person a “Scalomas”) to the court, all is lost. The situation gets worse when factoring in the likely retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist. It can’t get much worse than Rehnquist, but he’s still slightly better than a Scalomas. In a court with four Scalomases, Anthony Kennedy, a known enemy of the establishment clause, becomes the critical “swing vote.” Adding insult to injury, it is very likely that Bush will appoint his hero, Antonin Scalia, as the new Chief Justice when Rehnquist leaves the court.

So, what does the judicial landscape look like in a court with no O’Connor and four Scalomases? If such a court had been in place for the last 15 years, public high school graduations would routinely include prayer services (1992 Lee v. Weisman) and courthouses across the land would feature prominent Ten Commandments displays (2005 McCreary County v. ACLU). I won’t even deal with the issue of abortion here because it’s not strictly an issue of religion, but suffice it to say that things would be different on that front, as well. Such a court would also invite cases that would never come before the current lineup of justices. Justice Scalomas believes that states have the right to establish official religions. If you don’t understand the implications of that, go back to my June 6 post.

Just days after the announcement, the time for media hagiography is already at a close, and both sides are preparing for war. If you want a representation of the vicious attacks under way in extremist Christian channels, take a look into the abyss, by which I mean, of course, the mouth of Ann Coulter. Also, have a look at the petition from the Center for Reclaiming America. At the time of this writing, they were nearing a quarter million signatures.

To be fair, and balance that nonsense, here is a quote from Sandra Day O’Connor, voice of reason and prudent jurist.

By enforcing the Clauses, we have kept religion a matter for the individual conscience, not for the prosecutor or bureaucrat. At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences of the assumption of religious authority by government, Americans may count themselves fortunate. (2005 concurring opinion, McCreary County v. ACLU)

~I AM~

P.S. To take action, visit SaveTheCourt.org. Thanks to vjack at Atheist Revolution for the link.