"Why the Supreme Court makes justices more liberal"
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"Why the Supreme Court makes justices more liberal"
http://bostonreview.net/BR31.1/hansonbenforado.html
The authors make a pretty compelling case. I'm suddenly a lot less anxious about Alito's impending confirmation. If history is any indication, they will both vote conservative values for the next decade or so, and then shift gradually leftward.
Richard Nixon, for instance, thought he was getting solid right-wingers when he appointed Harry Blackmun and Lewis Powell, only to find, several years later, Blackmun authoring Roe v. Wade and Powell swing-voting to permit affirmative action in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.
The authors make a pretty compelling case. I'm suddenly a lot less anxious about Alito's impending confirmation. If history is any indication, they will both vote conservative values for the next decade or so, and then shift gradually leftward.
it's sarcastic dude
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Article is really interesting. Brings up alot of good questions.
What the hell does "conservative" mean anyway ? A judge like Alito who may wish to change policies set by "Roe vs. Wade" is called conservative, but clearly that would not be following the traditional conservative resistance to change. Hell the constitution in general is alot more liberal then the repulbican party platform. If taking conservative to mean what the root word means they clearly aren't.
The article doesn't really distiniguish between their votes and personal beliefs though. If the judges job is to prevent legislator from violating the constitution, but they personally feel something should be some other way, their supposed to be voting based on the former right?
What the hell does "conservative" mean anyway ? A judge like Alito who may wish to change policies set by "Roe vs. Wade" is called conservative, but clearly that would not be following the traditional conservative resistance to change. Hell the constitution in general is alot more liberal then the repulbican party platform. If taking conservative to mean what the root word means they clearly aren't.
The article doesn't really distiniguish between their votes and personal beliefs though. If the judges job is to prevent legislator from violating the constitution, but they personally feel something should be some other way, their supposed to be voting based on the former right?
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From: New York
Originally Posted by kill_kill_kill
The article doesn't really distiniguish between their votes and personal beliefs though. If the judges job is to prevent legislator from violating the constitution, but they personally feel something should be some other way, their supposed to be voting based on the former right?