Thomas Daschle: “I want to make three points. I think the most disconcerting aspect of this debate, for those who may be watching, is the…”

“I want to make three points. I think the most disconcerting aspect of this debate, for those who may be watching, is the concern that I would have, having heard many of our colleagues express their virtual desire to influence the Ninth Circuit and the decisions made there. Our Founding Fathers did an extraordinary job of creating the checks and balances in our constitutional system. As I travel around the world and talk to leaders from other parts of the world, who have not enjoyed that delicate balance between the judiciary, the executive, and legislative branches, the lament I hear all around the world is: We don't have an independent judiciary. We have a politicized judiciary. Because it is politicized, we don't have the rule of law. Because we don't have the rule of law, we don't have the predictability in law that creates the extraordinary stability that you have in your country. These leaders tell me: We want the rule of law, and we recognize that if we are ever going to acquire it, what we have to do is to depoliticize our judiciary, and we have to ensure that we do what you have done--respect its independence.”