♪alt13
Well-Known Member
I figure Obama will be swayed largely by what his party desires.
I don't really care how "left" a judge is-- as long as they are as objective as possible, open-minded, and relentlessly use the best data and case law possible to steer their decisions instead of being swayed heavily by personal bias.
Choosing to elect "centralist" judges isn't always going to work, because what is perceived as "center" is constantly in flux-- particularly in an election year where half of the Democratic caucus is ready to elect a Democratic Socialist. The American center is moving towards the rest of the developed world, and unfortunately (for many) the Supreme Court needs to reflect this. America is very much on track to move towards single payer health care, criminal justice reform, and more expanded funding for post-secondary education. Just think of how much Hillary Clinton has changed from 2008 to 2016. Night and day. And the only way a GOP candidate will win is if he/she starts moving towards the left as well.
Obama will also be swayed by what he believes he can accomplish. If he nominates his ideal candidate and that candidate is not confirmed he will be forced to choose another. He has to consider whether a candidate justice is likely to be confirmed.
The court is more often than not split. While I don't think that Justices often inject their personal biases into their opinions they clearly inject their ideological biases. I really don't like our divided court. I don't think that 5-4 decisions are healthy for the country. The SCOTUS is perhaps the single most important institution as far as keeping this country from ripping itself apart. I think a split court undermines that function.
I agree that the center is always in flux, but so is the court. When the center moves those that are within the new center would make great candidates for appointment. I believe the status quo has already undermined the courts decisions with the public and as we have seen recently even with Governors and even select federal judges. I don't think this is good for us.