Get Ready To Hear A Lot More About The Supreme Court This Election Cycle
Are you already sick of Merrick Garland? Too bad. You are going to hear a lot more about him.
(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Are you already sick of Merrick Garland? Too bad. You are going to hear a lot more about him, and the role of the Supreme Court in general, as the election draws closer. According to a new PSB poll, the composition of the Court is an important issue to 46% of voters. But look on the bright side, as an attorney, you can probably get away with opining about the import of the Court at the slightest provocation.
According to the internals of the polling data, the economy is still the issue of largest concern for voters, but the vacancy on the Court created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month saw the greatest increase as an election issue:
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Yet while voters remain focused on the economy, they have also noticed the recent Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Scalia’s death. Nearly half (46%) of voters rate the issue of “Supreme Court vacancies” as a “5” or “4” when considering their vote for president, a statistically significant six percentage-point increase from last month’s poll, conducted Feb. 2-5. “Supreme Court vacancies” also ranks as more important than “Wall Street reform” by a 46%-40% margin. By contrast, last month, “Wall Street reform” edged out “Supreme Court vacancies” by two points.
To loyal court followers, this jump in the visibility of the Supreme Court is noteworthy:
“The fact that the Supreme Court vacancy is rated so strongly when compared to other pressing national issues demonstrates that voters are seriously paying attention to the court now,” Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth said.
“We asked the exact same questions prior to Justice Scalia’s death last month,” PSB Principal Robert Green added, “and no single issue saw such a major jump.” In recent years, Green has conducted a several studies about public attitudes toward the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of groups such as C-SPAN and Fix the Court.
And lest anyone think that the issue may naturally peter out, as either the public gets bored with the topic or Republicans, eager to seem reasonable, will soon start the process of compromise, unfortunately, that seems unlikely. As the Washington Post reports, the longer the battle over the future of the Supreme Court drags out, the more recalcitrant Republicans get — indeed, holding out against Obama’s nomination is actually motivating their constituents:
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Despite Democratic organizing efforts, right-leaning activists care more about the Supreme Court vacancy right now than liberals do. In the current climate, most conservatives – even in blue states – have no appetite for compromise.
So this is how your summer will play out: in between your racist Donald Trump soundbites, get ready for clips of silver fox Chief Judge Garland forlornly asking for a meeting.
NEW POLL: Nearly Half of Voters See SCOTUS Vacancy As Among Most Important 2016 Issues [Fix the Court]
The Daily 202: Why the campaign to pressure Republicans to confirm Merrick Garland is failing [The Washington Post]
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