… In every instance, federal courts generally and the Supreme Court specifically have been a mirror for society. They don’t lead, and as a rule they don’t rush to the rescue of the government’s victims. Instead they reflect the way society is going anyway. Abortion is the useful example, because there they had it both ways — for when that was the vibe, against when the vibe changed.
This isn’t the story you hear about the courts, and they have to cultivate an air of detachment. But things couldn’t be another way. Courts have no enforcement power. They can nibble at the edges and occasionally do something unpopular, but that political capital runs out. Judges come from the society that they rule on. Their rulings will either tend to agree with that society, or they’ll be replaced by someone more agreeable. That doesn’t even require malicious action from anyone. It’s just a description of what the system selects for. …
“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron.”
HL Mecken.