Rose Bird and State Politics
The continuing debate over whether or not candidates for political office should or should not endorse or oppose Rose Elizabeth Bird in her bid for reconfirmation to the Supreme Court demonstrates a woeful ignorance of, and disregard for, the cornerstone of our particular brand of democracy.
The strength of our democracy lies in the strength of our Constitution and the separation of powers enunciated therein, calling for an independent executive, legislature, and judiciary. And the most important of these is the independent judiciary. We all know, or should know, that control of the judiciary makes a mockery of democracy.
For that reason, the courts must be kept free from political or all other external improper pressures. The judiciary is our bulwark, our protector against a tyrannical executive, when necessary. That is what has kept us free and our democracy strong.
Leave politics to the politicians. Leave the judiciary free and independent. It is those who would politicize the courts who should be condemned, not those who try to shield them from political pressures.
JOSEPH A. CAPALBO
Pacific Palisades
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