The Supreme Court has decided to intervene and settle three controversial issues that are key factors in the 2012 Presidential and Congressional Elections.
They have taken on the case of the Obama Health Care law; the Arizona Immigration legislation; and the Texas Congressional Redistricting case, all of which have a much greater impact than just the specific details of the cases on their own.
If the Health Care legislation is declared unconstitutional , it will create chaos in the health care field, as parts of the law are already in effect.
If the decision on the Arizona law regarding illegal immigration favors that state, it will create the danger of further spreading of such actions all over, and create new civil liberties issues for the foreign born in this country, and weaken the power of the federal government over immigration, which has always been a national responsibility.
If the decision is to back Texas redistricting, which is seen as unfair gerrymandering, and an attempt to weaken Hispanic and Latino influence in Texas, as well as unfair advantage for the Republican Party over the Democratic Party in that state, then it will reverberate elsewhere.
These three cases are crucial for the future of our political, social and economic system, and will be among the most significant cases of recent times in Supreme Court history.
The reality that the Court could go too far to the right is a long term troubling matter, and also brings to the forefront the importance of who is President in 2013 and after, as the likelihood of Supreme Court replacements grows in the next term, with one to three replacements possible, and determining the long term future direction of the Supreme Court.
The cases also highlight the importance, again, of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, considered the “swing” vote on a Court equally divided between Left and Right!
So to say that the Supreme Court does not get involved in politics is, very clearly, a misunderstanding of our system of government!