SCOTUS watch Th, Fr, Mo
by Tom Sullivan
"As goes the next president, so goes the court," Rachel Maddow wrote in the Washington Post. It is best to keep that thought firmly in mind going into 2016. It is easy to get bogged down in the personalities, the coverage, and the presidential horse race. The Big Money Boyz put their attention elsewhere. Maddow asked a Democratic campaign operative if candidates heard different concerns from donors than from just plain folks:
I got a surprised look in response — I think it was shock at my naivete — and a two-word answer: “Supreme Court.” The direction of the court and potential court nominees came up infinitely more often with donors than they did with average people.
I then asked a senior Republican operative the same question. I got the same response, minus the shocked look (I think he already knew I was naive).
Shoes are about to drop at the Supreme Court any time now. Power plant emissions, redistricting, same-sex marriage, and of course, King v. Burwell, in which we find out whether the court will rule against the Affordable Care Act and its own credibility.
Amy Howe runs down the remaining cases "in Plain English" at SCOTUSblog. An all-star panel at Slate is discussing the effects the rulings will have on an already polarized country. Or check out the Wall Street Journal, if you prefer.
Marriage equality activists are planning "Decision Day" rallies across the country to respond to the court's Obergefell v. Hodges et. al. (same-sex marriage) ruling, however it goes.
Stay tuned at 10 a.m. EDT today to see which shoe drops next.