I don’t know about you but I grew up thinking the Supreme Court was made up of the finest legal minds and that as a team, would arrive at the best interpretation of the Constitution. The thought that ideological leanings, personal attitudes, values, political philosophies, or policy preferences would influence a Justice’s vote didn’t get on my radar until the court got involved in the Florida ballot issue in the Bush v Gore presidential election.
Alright, I admit I wasn’t paying attention. I still find 5 to 4 votes to be an indication that the makeup of the Supreme Court could be better if it is always the same Justices that vote the same way. It is a red alert signal that the Court is flawed when the majority vote keeps being made by the same Justices. The flaw is a Court that doesn’t have a sufficient number of swing voting Justices. The question is then whether a President and Senate will fix the flaw or compound it.