The proposal is simple: when Democrats next hold the presidency and Senate, they should pack the courts to ensure that the Left can achieve its goals. Instead of only nominating judges for existing vacancies, they would expand the courts and fill the new positions with left-wing judges. These “living constitutionalists” would reinterpret the laws and the Constitution to advance the Left’s agenda. Just keep adding new Supreme Court justices who believe the Constitution means whatever the Left wants, until they add up to a majority.
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Much of the motivation behind the Left’s court-packing plot is due to projection. They use judicial power arbitrarily, so they believe everyone will. They cannot believe that anyone would relinquish power. But originalism is the antithesis of arbitrary power. Rather than trying to twist the law to align with policy preferences, it restricts policy preferences in accordance with the law. This does not mean that the best policy (as judges see it) always wins in court. But it provides something of inestimable worth in human affairs—limits on arbitrary power.
Originalists want judicial opinions that are legally correct, even when they dislike the policy outcomes. They condemn opinions that are legally wrong, even if they like the policy outcomes. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding sports betting law is a case in point. Originalists cheered it not because they are all big fans of gambling, but because it was legally correct. A lawyer who cannot quickly provide examples of such cases is one who has no respect for the rule of law.
Originalists follow the example of Scalia, who declared that many laws are “stupid but constitutional” (and by implication, that some good laws are be unconstitutional). For example, I think that many occupational licensing schemes across this nation are terrible policy—it is asinine for DC to require childcare workers to have college degrees—but I am skeptical of claims that they are unconstitutional.
Left Finally Admits They Pack Courts With Politicized Judges, And Plan To Amp It Up
The proposal is simple: when Democrats next hold the presidency and Senate, they should pack the courts to ensure that the Left can achieve its goals.
[clip]
Much of the motivation behind the Left’s court-packing plot is due to projection. They use judicial power arbitrarily, so they believe everyone will. They cannot believe that anyone would relinquish power. But originalism is the antithesis of arbitrary power. Rather than trying to twist the law to align with policy preferences, it restricts policy preferences in accordance with the law. This does not mean that the best policy (as judges see it) always wins in court. But it provides something of inestimable worth in human affairs—limits on arbitrary power.
Originalists want judicial opinions that are legally correct, even when they dislike the policy outcomes. They condemn opinions that are legally wrong, even if they like the policy outcomes. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding sports betting law is a case in point. Originalists cheered it not because they are all big fans of gambling, but because it was legally correct. A lawyer who cannot quickly provide examples of such cases is one who has no respect for the rule of law.
Originalists follow the example of Scalia, who declared that many laws are “stupid but constitutional” (and by implication, that some good laws are be unconstitutional). For example, I think that many occupational licensing schemes across this nation are terrible policy—it is asinine for DC to require childcare workers to have college degrees—but I am skeptical of claims that they are unconstitutional.
Left Finally Admits They Pack Courts With Politicized Judges, And Plan To Amp It Up
The proposal is simple: when Democrats next hold the presidency and Senate, they should pack the courts to ensure that the Left can achieve its goals.
