It looks all but certain now that John Roberts will be confirmed as the next Chief Justice of the United States (side note: the title is NOT Chief Justice of the Supreme Court). That's a good thing. I think.
My good friend Matt is right -- this guy is a cipher. Or like a Gump Box of Chocolates (where you never know...). You can't help but be impressed by the guy; even the Senatorial opponents speak glowingly of his intellect and demeanor (though they also cannot help but take the potshots required by future-fundraising-concerns).
Sure, i'd rather have a confirmed Roe/Casey opponent. After all, the GOP has held the White House for 24 of the 32 years since the Roe debacle (as you can see, i'm not angling for a future seat on SCOTUS), and all but 2 (Ginsberg/Breyer) of the current justices were appointed by Republican presidents. So why can't we get this heinous decision overturned? Go nuclear if you have to.
But i'll take my chances with Roberts. I think he is very close philosophically to Reinquist. And i think he is very well suited to lead the Judicial branch. I especially liked his analogy to baseball umpires...
Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them.
The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules.
But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.
Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent, shaped by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath.
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