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It’s hardly an independent body when 67% of members are lifetime political appointees from a party that hasn’t represented a national majority in several decade
by pavlov 4y ago
It’s hardly an independent body when 67% of members are lifetime political appointees from a party that hasn’t represented a national majority in several decades.
- thenewthotness 4y agoThe entire structure of the US government is meant to guard against rule by a “national majority” amongst other things.
- refurb 4y agoIt's not "from a party", it's nominated "by the Senate". For example, Amy Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 55-43, including 3 Democrats. I'm not sure why you mention "a national majority". It was never a popularity contest. States elect senators, senators confirm Supreme Court justices.
- lovich 4y agoAnd which office proposes said candidates? And how does that office get elected? It’s not crazy for the OP to mention a national majority
- refurb 4y agoWhat do you mean office? The voters elect senators, who nominate candidates and then vote.
- sokoloff 4y agoThe President nominates and the Senate vets/confirms them. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx
- refurb 4y agoYou're right. The senate judiciary committee will vote, then the candidate is voted on by the entire senate. Regardless, the confirmation process is conducted by elected representatives. There is no "this party chose them".
- lovich 4y agoA strict reading of the rules says that but the meta behavior of how the political parties interact with those rules means that the scotus judges are de facto chosen by one party or the other.
- refurb 4y agoThen what happens when one party controls the Senate and another the Presidency? Which has happened quite often?
- Ekaros 4y agoOffice that is voted in by people who potentially do not represented 49.9% of the people who voted for them.
- mythopedia 4y ago> On October 26, the Senate confirmed Barrett to the Supreme Court by a vote of 52–48, 30 days after her nomination and 8 days before the 2020 presidential election. *Every Republican senator except Susan Collins voted to confirm her, whereas every member of the Senate Democratic Caucus voted in opposition.* Barrett is the first justice since 1870 to be confirmed without a single vote from the Senate minority party. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Coney_Barrett https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Coney_Barrett
- sokoloff 4y agoIndependent is orthogonal to whether its members match any particular political party provenance. In fact, the more we demand that it match that profile, the less independent it’s likely to become.
- tomp 4y ago> that hasn’t represented a national majority in several decades You can't really make that claim, objectively. US elections aren't decided by national majority, so you can't use them as a measure of national majority. If the game was different, people would play it differently.