"The Imperial Judiciary" - Such Hogwash!

USA Today through News.Yahoo posted interesting comments:

"Protests against an "imperial judiciary" have existed since the earliest days of the Republic ... But the latest round, long percolating and now nearing a boil in Washington, is a particularly nasty mix of intolerance, opportunism and religious fervor."

Since I am new to the blogosphere, a little background is in order. I am the son of a Fundamentalist Protestant Minister, though I have a scientific, logical turn of mind. Imagine, the moral and logical dilemmas you must deal with to reconcile these diverse points of view within your own mind.

Winston Churchill once said, "Trust the Americans to do the right thing... after they have tried everything else."

We are now trying "everything else." Fundamentalist, evangelical, rightists are declaring the judiciary to be in violation of the Constitution because they are acting as legislators. It can also be said that the judiciary is, per the Constitution, simply doing their job.

That is where things become very interesting. When any segment of our society accuses the judiciary of "legislating," then they call into question the very governmental body we have empowered to decide those questions. Now isn't that an interesting dilemma? Are we, the USA, on the verge of a constitutional crisis?

If the courts are accused of taking over the responsibilities of the legislative branch, then what constitutional authority is empowered to pass judgment on that accusation?

After asking these questions I am left in fear. Can the U.S. really be divided over the question of whether or not the judiciary has the constitutional mandate to interpret the U.S. Constitution? If the religious/non-religious, Democrat/Republican, Right/Left have the power to decide that question, the United States of America is in DEEP trouble.