… The partisan polarization on the court reflects similarly deep divisions in Congress, the electorate and the elite circles in which the justices move. … The perception that partisan politics has infected the court’s work may do lasting damage to its prestige and authority and to Americans’ faith in the rule of law. …
Three changes have created a courthouse made up of red and blue chambers. Presidents care more about ideology than they once did. They have become better at finding nominees who reliably vote according to that ideology. And party affiliation is increasingly the best way to predict the views of everyone from justices to bank tellers. CONT.
Adam Liptak, The Upshot