Vice-President Mike Pence said in an interview on Thursday that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts disappointed conservatives by siding with the liberal justices in some recent decisions.
“Look, we have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States”, Pence told Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “But Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives, whether it be the Obamacare decision or whether it be a spate of recent decisions all the way through Calvary Chapel.”
Pence took issue with Roberts siding with the liberal justices to strike down a Louisiana abortion law signed by the state’s legislature in 2014 that required any doctor offering abortion services to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.
“That’s a very modest restriction on abortion providers. But a narrow majority in the Supreme Court still said it was unacceptable. I think it’s been a wake-up call for pro-life voters around the country who understand, in a very real sense, the destiny of the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2020,” Pence said.
Justices are not Politicians
A couple of things, first Supreme Court Justices are not suppose to be politicians. Their job as the judiciary is to apply neutral principles of law to resolve issues. They are not a political branch of government or an extension of the Trump administration. If that was the case, they would be held politically accountable to the people like the other branches of government.
Second, Mike Pence may believe that Roberts is disappointing conservatives but the rest of America don’t share his belief. Public approval for the high court is at its highest since 2009. 58 percent of Americans in a recent Gallup survey say the court is handling its job responsibly.
The poll also shows the closest partisan rating for the court since 2000. About six in 10 Republicans (60%), independents (57%) and Democrats (56%) approve of its overall job performance, according to Gallup.
Having Mike Pence casting the Supreme Court Justices as political operatives does a disservice to the vision Alexander Hamilton had for the court, one where an independent court protects the right of every American citizen no matter their party affiliation.
Mike Pence: “Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives.”
