In the coming months the U.S. Senate will conduct yet another circus surrounding the most recent appointment to the Supreme Court. The Constitution imposes the duty on the Senate to advise and consent to appointments to the Court and has exercised that responsibility since 1789.The hope that justices of the Court would be independent of political influence is frustrated by the fact that a political official, the president, appoints justices almost always from his own political party and further frustrated by the confirmation process in the Senate.
It’s an old story. President Washington’s appointment of a chief justice in 1795 was rejected on largely political grounds. Open Senate hearings did not begin until 1916 and were rarely dramatic until the post-WWII era. In the past four decades those hearings have been televised. The opportunity to put on a show for political purposes has been irresistible and many senators of both parties have not resisted. The senators have frequently been shameless and the results shameful. Worse, the opposing political party vows to get even in the next appointment.
The combination of a flawed process and flawed motives have not served the court or the country well. Confidence in the court has declined in recent years for a variety of reasons. Putting appointees through a political circus has tarred the confirmed justices with the campaigns against them. The circus surrounding the most recent appointee has already begun. Brace yourself for another disgraceful show.
Richard Hesse
Hopkinton