As someone mentioned, Republicans have tended to bat .500 on the court appointments, but Democrats bat 1.00. Both Clinton’s appointees dissented. If Obama is elected, it is fairly certain Ginsburg and Stevens will retire. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Scalia will as well. Kennedy is also about the same age. If Obama gets to replace those justices, Heller is finished. It will be meaningless.

There’s at least a chance with McCain, which is why I don’t think this is the time to fuck around with trying to fuck the Republicans.

While I agree that Obama must be defeated for other reasons, I think is it fatuous to suggest that McCain would appoint judges that would look favorably on both Heller and McCain-Fiengold. Just not going to happen.

McCain showed us just how pro-gun he was after he lost the 2000 presidential primary (not very, see http://gunowners.org/mccaintb.htm). Unlike G. W. Bush I may believe him when he says he wouldn’t sign a new AW ban—unlikely to be an issue given how the Dems in Congress prefer job security over this issue—but I expect nothing helpful from him or the Republicans in the next four years on the RKBA.

As Johnnyb points out, the Dems in the Senate are VERY unlikely to confirm anyone favorable to us, and why would McCain upset his buddies there (just look at all the “McCain-[some very liberal Dem] legislation he’s proposed).

Still, let’s not forget that it was Reagan who inflicted Sandra Day O’Conner and Anthony Kennedy on us, and it was Bush Sr. who gave us David Souter. Ford gave us John Paul Stevens. Given the fact that some of the most liberal supreme court justices have been nominated by Republicans, reinforces my conviction that there is no way that McCain is going to be our point man for tipping the court in the Republicans favor. In fact, McCain could not do so even if he were so inclined, because we have lost our majority in congress, and a democratic congress simply is not going to allow another Alito or Roberts on to the High Court, and McCain has even stated that he would not nominate anyone that conservative to the high court.

The Supreme Court is no reason to vote for John McCain, because he cannot and will not nominate anyone to upset the apple cart. As much as I want the conservatives to be in power, I think that we need to take a strategic loss on the Presidential race this year and vote for someone like Bob Barr to send a signal to the Republican Party that we are serious about small government. It would be far better to allow Obama the win, while handing the Republicans a spectacular defeat as punishment for their big spending, big government ways that have dominated the Bush Administration. This way the conservatives that we retain in Congress will get the message that we expect them to act like Conservatives instead of mean spirited liberals. A big government Republican Party must be brought to heel, lest we have lost everything that Conservativism supposedly stands for. We cannot allow another Bush, which is exactly what McCain would be only dumber.