Shades of FDR!

Still, there is nothing sacrosanct about having nine justices on the Supreme Court. RooseveltÂ’s 1937 chicanery has given court-packing a bad name, but it is a hallowed American political tradition participated in by Republicans and Democrats alike.

If the current five-man majority persists in thumbing its nose at popular values, the election of a Democratic president and Congress could provide a corrective. It requires only a majority vote in both houses to add a justice or two. Chief Justice John Roberts and his conservative colleagues might do well to bear in mind that the roll call of presidents who have used this option includes not just Roosevelt but also Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and Grant.

So let's get something clear on this one -- if the Supreme Court continues to issue well-reasoned opinions backed with Constitutionally-sound principles, it should be overthrown in the interest of assuring politically popular decisions instead. Now tell me -- who then is adopting "a manifestly ideological agenda, [that] plunges the court into the vortex of American politics" -- the justices or those seeking to overturn justice via the political process.

Oh, and interestingly enough, at no point does the author cite a single decision this term that was manifestly incorrect -- or even one that he views as decided based upon political ideology rather than the law. But he still appears to want to make the Supreme Court a branch politically subservient to the whims of the Democrats by adding seats and packing the bench after a presumed victory by the Democrats in 2008.

Posted by: Greg at 01:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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