Letters to the Editor
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P.D. "Bo" Steele
I'm guessing that what Glenn meant--although of course I can't speak for him--is that legal action ALONE cannot and will not save the republic. BvB clearly had a tremendous positive effect on our republic, but 50+ years later we're still debating and litigating the underlying issues and principles surrounding it, and as recent court decisions have shown, even reversing it. RvW similarly had a powerful effect, and yet there is still no national consensus on abortion, nor is there likely to be one for a very long time to come.
I think that Glenn's point was that, as important as legal action was, it's not enough to move our Republic back to where it needs to be, to restore and save it. That also requires a change in our laws--which except when overturned or interpreted, lies within the legislative, executive and occasionally electoral domain (e.g. initiatives), in our politics, in the media, in our citizenry, etc. To expect and wait for the courts to fix the messes that we find ourselves in right now is naive and, frankly, lazy, if not cowardly.
Judicial remedies are certainly necessary, but simply not sufficient to the massive task at hand. We also need a huge increase in public interest and participation in politics, a reinvigorated, adversarial and principled media, an infusion of progressive politics and politicians in the political process, odious laws reversed legislatively and progressive ones passed in their place, etc. The courts are important, but they can only do so much, because they are essentially a reactive, not proactive body, as opposed to the other two.