Letter: President’s comments on Supreme Court cause for worry

On April 2, President Obama called the U.S. Supreme Court “an unelected group of people” who, in his opinion, should not have the power to “somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.”

His reasoning: The (health care) law was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.

These words are scary, the philosophy behind them frightening, the implications horrific, whether you support or oppose this particular law.

Think about it for a moment: It means anything Congress passes as law would be Constitutional. It means unchecked, unquestionable power of the majority of one branch of the government (the one with the lowest approval ratings).

The Founding Fathers believed in check-and-balance of government powers. The Constitution provides for it, and the Supreme Court is an irreplaceable piece in this equation.

We need to protect it and cherish it. We must be very suspicious of people, including our own president, who assault the integrity of the Supreme Court in an attempt to score political points for a law under review, try to diminish the Court’s ability to check-and-balance the legislative and executive branches of government, and sound like they want to concentrate more power in the hands of a few.

If we lose an independent Supreme Court, we lose our liberty, our democracy, and our future.

Don’t believe me — ask other people who have lived in countries with unchecked government power. Their stories might surprise you.

Tags: opinion, letters, politics