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In context, your quote does not make sense. Without judicial review, which Jefferson was criticizing, there would be -nothing- to stop bad laws from being imple
by scythe 13y ago
In context, your quote does not make sense. Without judicial review, which Jefferson was criticizing, there would be -nothing- to stop bad laws from being implemented. Abortion would still be illegal, for example.
Marbury v. Madison created a remarkable legal instrument: the Court can strike down a law, but it cannot write a new one (deplorable Costa Rican abortion jurisprudence notwithstanding). It is a check on government power that errs on the side of liberty.
However, relying on the Court to strike down every bad law is like relying on the compiler to catch logic errors. A sufficiently intelligent compiler can perform some remarkable analysis of code, but that is not the function of a compiler. We continue to elect bad Congressmen who pass bad laws signed by a bad President, and then we have the gall to blame the Supreme Court. It's ridiculous.
If you want to make a difference in politics, you have to actually get involved in politics, at the party and primary level, because that is just how shit gets done. It is critical to elect good candidates, not just to throw out bad ones.