Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a leader of the social conservative community, is a fan of today’s remarks:

From a release….

“Senator McCain’s speech will be well- received by millions of Americans alarmed by activist judges who undermine the rule of law by legislating from the bench.

“We applaud Senator McCain for his support of federal judges who will apply the U.S. Constitution. He is correct in criticizing both federal judges who presume to ‘make law instead of apply it’ and the obstructionist Senate Democratic leaders who continue to deny hearings to well-qualified judicial nominees.

“The Senate Democratic leadership views the judiciary as a tool to dictate social policy. If they can’t pass a hate-crimes law, they will support judges who will install one from the bench. If they can’t overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, they will find a judge to declare it unconstitutional.

“Essentially, the Democrats in the Senate have committed themselves to obstruct and pervert the judicial process until the time, they hope, when a liberal president can nominate judicial activists to reshape the social policy landscape of America.

“I thank Senator McCain for the commitment he made today to ‘restore the standards and spirit that give the judicial branch its place of honor in our government…. Every federal court should be a refuge from abuses of power, and not the source’ of them.”

Winston-Salem, NC — Sen. John McCain slammed his Democratic rivals’ judicial philosophy and railed against “activist judges” who show “little regard” for the Constitution and even “less interest” for the interests of the American people, during a speech today at Wake Forest University.

“Some federal judges operate by fiat, shrugging off generations of legal wisdom and precedent while expecting their own opinions to go unquestioned. Only their favorite precedents are to be considered “settled law,” and everything else is fair game,” McCain said, addressing more than 2,000 University students, staff and faculty at the college’s Wait Chapel, before turning his attention to the Democrats. “”Senators Obama and Clinton have very different ideas from my own. They are both lawyers themselves, and don’t seem to mind at all when fundamental questions of social policy are preemptively decided by judges instead of by the people and their elected representatives. Nor have they raised objections to the unfair treatment of judicial nominees.”

McCain focused much of his fire at the Democratic frontrunner and continued to paint Sen. Barack Obama as elitist and out of touch–rebuking the Illinois Senator for using “vague words” to justify judicial activism and maintaining standards that “proved too lofty” to vote to confirm the “brilliant, fair-minded” Chief Justice John Roberts. (VIDEO ABOVE)

“He went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee,” McCain said, as he completed a two-day swing through the Tar Heel state partially meant to steal some attention from the Democrats competing in today’s primary. “Somehow, by Senator Obama’s standard, even Judge Roberts didn’t measure up. And neither did Justice Samuel Alito. Apparently, nobody quite fits the bill except for an elite group of activist judges, lawyers, and law professors who think they know wisdom when they see it — and they see it only in each other.”

Flanked by former presidential rival Fred Thompson and former Solicitor General Ted Olsen–both held in very high-esteem by conservatives–McCain outlined his judicial philosophy in a speech that sought to bolster his support on the right.

“I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint…my nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power,” McCain said.

Though McCain fed some red meat to his skeptics on the conservative right who are critical of his participation in the bipartisan Gang of 14–a group of senators who created a temporary truce to vote through some but not all Bush federal court appointments–he avoided discussion of some of the hot-button social issues like Roe v. Wade and gun rights.

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