It is good to see someone talking about the importance of the Supreme Court in this presidential election. Three justices who are moderate to progressive are rumored to not last 4 years. Will we replace them with more moderates or get a total of 6-7 conservatives?
McCain uses the court as a punching bag and wishes to appoint legal eunuchs. Obama wants someone who understands the teenage mom. Both sides talk in code about abortion, but the issue, as seen by Dahlia Lithwick in Newsweek, is much broader. The job of the Supremes is judicial review: no matter how popular a law is or how correctly the legislature did its job, if the law clashes with the Constitution it must go. But there are currently four justices who don't see themselves as protectors of the Constitution and an equal branch of government. They see themselves as "unelected, politically unaccountable judges" who should not interfere in the people's will (unless, of course, the issue is some core conservative ideal like owning guns) and that they should not second-guess Congress or the president on such issues as national security, discrimination, separation of church and state, free speech, election law, and the environment. Do you want a president who will nominate a justices who will sideline themselves? Or will you vote for a president who believes we call it a Supreme Court for a reason?
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