Keck Quoted in Talking Points Memo Piece on Democratic Backsliding

May 5, 2022

Talking Points Memo

Thomas M. Keck

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Congress

Government

SCOTUS

United States

Talking Points Memo

Thomas M. Keck

A leaked draft opinion indicates the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. Four of the five justices behind the opinion were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, and all of them were confirmed by senators representing a minority of voters. The court has always held itself above day-to-day politics, says Thomas Keck, professor of political science and Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, but “it is striking the degree to which the center of gravity on the current court was appointed by presidents who themselves lost the popular vote, and were confirmed by senators who collectively represent less than half of the American people.”

Historically, when the Supreme Court has strayed too far from “the broad stream of public opinion,” Keck says, it has faced political backlash. “I think we might be at one of those moments again,” he says, referring to a “persistent disconnect” between the court’s majority and the views of the American public. Read more in the Talking Points Memo article, "20 Years Of Democratic Backsliding Got Us To The Roe Reversal."