"Activist Judges"

Wingnut acquaintances and relatives often bring up the complaint about activist judges whenever a court has done something disagreeable. This usually involves the court's having obstructed some legislative or executive wingnuttery as unconstitutional. It seems to me, however, that it was the legislature or executive that was "active" in the first place and that obstructing them is about as conservative as you can get.

In all fairness to the wingnuts I know, they are almost all well intentioned dupes who long, as I do, to return to Constitutional principles of limited government and individual liberty. My wingnut acquaintances and relatives are just too busy and/or stupid to realize that the wingnut leadership does not want this at all; rather, they want power for themselves and will say or do anything to get it. The leadership rightly sees the judiciary as an obstruction to their consolidation of power, and they are not calling for curbs on the judiciary to restore the lost Constitution.

Indeed, if we want to restore the lost Constitution, let's start with the really activist branches, the legislature and executive. Think proposed legislation goes beyond the enumerated powers of the federal government? Vote against it, Congresscritters! Veto it, Mr President! I thought so. The wingnuts no more want to see the restoration of the Constitutional order than they want to see the return of Jesus Christ. Either eventuality would see them out of power.