Politics and the Supreme Court

An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times by Jean Edward Smith decries the political nature of the decisions of the Roberts Court and suggests that to end the tyranny of the conservatives, additional members should be added to the court as soon as someone trustworthy (i.e. a Democrat) was elected President. While it is true that the number of members of the court has changed over time, nine has been the number since the Grant administration and the only significant attempt to change that was FDR's attempt in 1937 which almost derailed his presidency and was the biggest debacle of his three plus terms.

I am always amazed how the MSM always sneers and scoffs at the conservatives for their ideological positions and never seems to notice that the likes of Stevens and Ginsberg and Souter are just as ideologically driven as Thomas and Scalia and Alito. What made Sandra Day O'Connor and to a lesser extent Anthony Kennedy so significant is that they tend to be less ideological in their decisions. Smith suggests that the recent decisions of the Roberts Court are out of sync with "popular values." What she means is that they are out of sync with her values. Millions of Americans are uncomfortable with the Stevens and Ginsberg's of the court and millions more dislike Thomas and Alito.

Perhaps the liberals elites such as Smith and the editorial staff of the NYT should realize that they are as out of touch with most Americans as they seem to think the Supreme Court is.