The Supreme Court has vast influence on lives of all Americans in a wide range of ways. We only have influence on who is on the court by who we select a president. By the time the next president is sworn in, 6 of the 9 justices will be 70 or older. That prez. will likely appoint several (I suspect the oldest ones are hanging on in hopes of seeing a Democrat as president before they die). Yet few people could name more than a couple justices and most spend no time asking presidential candidates about what they think about how to evaluate a Supreme Court nominee. The scary exception is the Right quizzing McCain. The rulings that cause the most anger at the time they are handed down are usually the ones later viewed as obviously just and go on to become bedrock principles. Bad guys on TV now routinely demand that cops have search warrants. Perhaps we don't pay attention to the court because we look at the short term and the court looks at the long term.
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The elections tend to focus on precisely the wrong issues. The president cannot, for instance, cut your taxes, provide subsidies for ethanol, do away with NAFTA, ban abortion, or any number of other things that the candidates promise without the complicity of a majority of 535 other people. What the president can effect directly is the nominations of individuals to positions (such as the courts), write or re-write rules based on legislation, and foreign policy, including military use. Constitutionally, those are the president's duties yet we continue to focus on the chicken in every pot issues.
ReplyDeleteI'm not suggesting that those issues are completely without merit. The president does hold the power of the veto after all, but those 535 can override vetoes if they have the will. The Senate can also, if it has the will, oppose nominees. Sadly, we've seen Congress in recent years and in both houses, allow it's power to wain.