So, what can be done when the Supreme Court starts deciding cases in ways you don't like (if you're a liberal, that is)? Why, recommend packing the Court, of course.
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.
Thumbing its nose at popular values? Which popular values would these be?
Most Americans support restrictions on abortions. So, with that in mind, the Court's Gonzales v. Carhart decision seems to be upholding a popular value.
And while most people support the idea of diversity, lots of folks don't like busing (see here, here, and here for starters). So, how was the Supreme Court out of step with the mainstream in striking down so-called "voluntary" integration plans in Seattle and Louisville?
It seems to me that the folks thumbing their nose at popular values are the liberals complaining because the SCOTUS doesn't lean so far to the left anymore. But I guess that's because they thought the court system was for them and not for the people who really support popular values.
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