So Newt Gingrich put out this video imploring the people of California to vote for Proposition 8, which would overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that legalizes same-sex marriage.  You can watch the video if you like:

Of course, I'd like to point out the obvious... which is Newt Gingrich is hardly one to talk about the sanctity of the institution of marriage.  He's been married three times, has cheated on both of his former wives, and even discussed divorce with his first wife while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery.  But marriage is the bedrock of our civilization.  Way to represent Newt.

The more basic problem that I have with his video though is the way he continues to talk about this as a case of "judicial activism", and even invokes how the Founding Fathers fought against judicial activism during the Revolution.  That's just going too far.

First of all, the term "judicial activism" is overused so much as to really become meaningless.  It is simply a code word for "a legal decision I disagree with".  Given how most people attempt to use the phrase, the best impartial definition is: "a legal decision in which a judge overrules a law by a legislative body that represents the majority of the people."  So according to Republicans, overruling gay marriage is bad because the majority voted for that ban.  But somehow not siding with Kelo in a takings case is also bad, even though a City Council representing the majority in that city thought that taking property was OK.  The whole point of an impartial judiciary is to encourage judicial activism.  Not by making law... but by preventing the tyranny of the majority against the rights of individuals and minority groups.

As for the Founding Fathers... I doubt they ever uttered the phrase "judicial activism", let alone knew what it meant.  However, they did in fact complain about the impartiality of judges to King George:

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

Their complaint was that judges were too beholden to the Executive Branch... and that is why we have an independent judiciary.  The people of the State of California do have a right to overrule the Supreme Court decision.  But doing so in the memory of the Founding Fathers is hardly justice.