Obama Needs To Nominate a Progressive to Supreme Court and Start To Balance Its Right Wing Dominated Membership
The current court, dominated by right wing, corporatist justices appointed by Republican presidents, may tilt further rightward, which would be a disaster.
Some of Obama's remarks indicate that his commitment to strong Democratic Party philosophy and values, and a living Constitution is uncertain.
Jeff Cohen writes at Campaign for America's Future:
"I’d like to see Obama shift or shove the Court leftward. But after reading the article, I realized that it could just as easily have been headlined: “Will Obama Move Supreme Court Rightward?”
"The centerpiece of the [New York Times article was a fascinating study conducted by two University of Chicago law professors (one of whom is a conservative federal appeals judge) analyzing the judicial records of the 43 justices who’ve served on the Supreme Court since 1937. Four of the five most conservative judges of the last seven decades (Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John G. Roberts, Samuel Alito) now sit on the Court. With Anthony Kennedy at number ten, five of the ten most right-wing judges are currently on the Court. The current majority, in other words, is almost a conservative all-star team.
"By contrast, among the ten most liberal judges since 1937, the only sitting justice is Ruth Bader Ginsburg – she’s number nine. Today’s other three “liberal” justices (John Paul Stevens, Stephen G. Breyer, David H. Souter) are in the top 15, but outside the top ten.
"Unfortunately, from what we’ve seen of Obama’s general penchant for “moderate” appointees who don’t inflame Republicans, it’s quite possible the Court will continue trending rightward – if liberals get replaced with less liberal appointees. After Souter, the seats Obama is most likely to fill are those of the two most liberal justices: Ginsburg and Stevens.
"...the reality is that unless Obama restrains his compulsion toward centrist consensus and appoints real progressives to replace not only Souter but Ginsburg and Stevens, our right-wing court may get even more conservative.
"George W. Bush appointed mostly right-wing ideologues to the federal courts, and put Alito and Roberts on the Supremes. Republican-appointees and rightists now dominate the federal judiciary. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton prided himself on choosing mostly moderate judges – praised by the same elite pundit chorus that now praises Obama’s “pragmatic” choices.
"A tepid replacement for Souter (and Stevens and Ginsburg) would maintain a rightwing status quo on the Supreme Court; as University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone told the Times: 'The right side is very bold and very conservative. The liberal side is not bold. They are incrementalists. They don’t set the agenda.'
"But if Obama were to break his habit and replace retiring liberals with a bold progressive or two, Professor Stone argues it would seriously change things: 'A really powerful, articulate, moral, passionate voice on the left would really change the dynamic on the Court. It would pull the other justices who are inclined to be sympathetic to that voice in that direction. It would shift the center of the discussion — about what’s the middle.'
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