As individual members of the court they have their political outlook and objectives that they will impose on us. The constitution/legal arguments are their intellectual cover.
It is funny you would think that the members aren't biased with respect to this.
And I have no doubt you are so naive as to think that public (and private) opinions do not matter to these judges. You can bank on it that Obama has tried to influence their decision making (publicly and privately)...why wouldn't GOP leadership?
Originally Posted by Whirlaway
I didn't say that they don't have a political outlook or an objective. I said they don't give a rat's ass about what Obama or the GOP wants and I will stand by that statement. Why would they? There is nothing that Obama or the GOP or anybody else can do to a sitting member of the SCOTUS. They don't have to troll for votes, they don't need monetary contributions, they don't answer to the press or the POTUS, they have a lifetime appointment to what is arguably one of the most powerful, important and prestigious jobs in the world. Shit,they largely don't even answer to congress although congress, at least theoretically, possesses the power to invalidate SCOTUS decisions via legislation.
The legal landscape is littered with SCOTUS decisions that were incredibly unpopular with political parties and the general public. In fact, almost every single decision of any import that is published by SCOTUS is going to make some segment of the population unhappy. It's the nature of the beast.
Does ideology influence individual decisions? Of course. Is any member of the SCOTUS influenced by some GOP operative's "back door" input or by President Obama making a speech? I don't think so.