UC Irvine law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who has a weekly column in the Orange County Register, has predictably backed the 9th Circuit in the Trump travel ban legal fight. Here is his column of today.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/constitution-744209-person-dangerous.html
Below is the comment I put in the online reader comment thread.
I suggest Chemo read Title 8 USC chapter 12 1182 (f) which gives the president authority to exclude certain individuals or groups from entering the US based on national interests (like security). Chemo never even mentioned it. I recall when Pres. Carter excluded Iranians during the hostage crisis.
As for preference being given to religious minorities like Christians, Yazidis etc. There is a clear reason why they should be given priority. They are fleeing for their lives in the face of a campaign of genocide (by Muslims). Yet, under Obama they were ignored. How ironic that so much sympathy is being given to Muslim refugees while the victims of their genocide are to be ignored.
That is the reasoning of Chemo and the left. It makes no sense.
What else can I say?
I wrote a letter to the editor of the OC Register this AM:
ReplyDeleteDear Editor,
I was very disturbed to see Erwin Chemerinsky refer to our country as “our constitutional democracy” in his February 16th immigration column. I first became aware of this phrase last year, and now notice its use is becoming quite common. The United States is a constitutional republic. There is a very significant difference in these terms.
A republic is a representative government ruled by law. A democracy is direct government ruled by the majority (mob rule). A republic recognizes the inalienable rights of individuals, while democracies are only concerned with group needs or wants (the public good).
When Benjamin Franklin was asked about the form of government of our new country, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” James Madison wrote in The Federalist, No. 10 “democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property.” Alexander Hamilton said, “We are a Republican Government. Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of Democracy.” George Washington, in his inaugural address, stated he would dedicate himself to “the preservation…of the republican model of government.”
The Constitution does not contain the word “democracy,” but does mandate: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government.” (Article IV Section 4)
I am neither a lawyer or constitutional expert though being a retired DEA agent, I certainly had to acquire a working knowledge of criminal law. Chemerinsky enjoys a reputation as one of the top constitutional lawyers in the US. Perhaps that is so, but he always comes down on the liberal side of every issue. I suspect his law school is dedicated to turning out liberal, activist lawyers-the last thing we need in this country.
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