THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

In 1968 the Supreme Court struck down all state intermarriage laws and the Catholic bishops and main line conservatives all applauded wildly. All of the states that had adopted the Constitution enforced laws against miscegenation.In order to strike down all state anti-miscegenation laws the Court just openly ignored what the Founding Fathers intended and everybody knew it.

Conservatives and Catholic bishops were in their glory when they praised the Supreme Court for its decision striking down miscegenation laws. Every time they praised that decision, liberals patted them on the head and told them what great anti-racists they were. Conservative live for liberal praise.

Liberal praise is also what Catholics who have an inferiority complex live for. So in 1973 the Supreme Court invented the right to abortion. Bishops went ballistic. Conservatives went ballistic.

This year the Supreme Court struck down all state sodomy laws and conservatives went ballistic. "What happened," they screamed, "To the Original Intent of the Founding Fathers?"

I want to grab them by the ears and shout in their faces, "YOU happened to it!"

Conservatives gave up original intent so they could get liberals praise for being anti-racist. They also gave up their constitutional principles without a fight. They also gave up on the membership of the Supreme Court without a fight. Now they are asking what happened there, too.

Conservatives blindly backed Bush Senior for President. He put the most liberal member on the Supreme Court, Justice Souter. The Court is split with four conservatives against four solid liberals, one of whom is Justice Souter. And who is the one who votes half liberal and half conservative? Bush Senior's other appointee, Justice O'Connor.

Conservatives gave up the Supreme Court without a fight, and now they are whining and crying.