Political parties hijack independent judiciary

Political parties are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, yet they dominate the actions of our government. Their reach, sadly, even goes deep into the hallowed deliberations of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A far cry from the mindset of some of our founders:

“I never submitted … to the creed of any party … where I was capable of thinking for myself. If I could not go to heaven but with a (political) party, I would not go at all.” — Thomas Jefferson

“It (a political party) agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one party against another…” — George Washington, 1796

“There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties … in opposition to each other. This … is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” — John Adams

Their philosophies were clear, wise and predictive. It is a sin that they were ignored. We have the chaos they envisioned.

This was compounded just a day ago with the nomination by President Trump of Brett Kavanaugh, an ultra right-wing federal judge, to carry Trump’s brand of radical conservatism for the next few generations. That is where the 5-4 majority of the court lies and where it will stay until at least two more justices die or retire.

This is where our nation’s founders went wrong: They fashioned a government of checks and balances, they thought, by creating three separate and equal branches of government — the executive, the legislative and the courts.

The problem is the courts are not really separate. Justices and federal judges are appointed by politicians who value power above justice, compassion, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our method of selecting justices needs to change. It gives far too much power to the other two branches, the president and the Senate, which must ratify the presidential appointment. Both Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, abuse this power. They think not of the American people, but of the people and special interests who control their political party.

What the American people want is singular and simple: a fair shot at knowing what the U.S. Constitution means as a law, free of political ideology.

Since we wouldn’t want to outlaw political parties (think freedom of speech), there seems to be one answer: to allow the people, you and I, to elect Supreme Court justices on a nonpartisan ballot and with emphasis on legal, not political, acumen.

This would mean a constitutional amendment, a long and complicated process, plus a whole lot of safeguards, control over campaigning and campaign spending, perhaps stiff eligibility tests for candidates, guidelines drawn up by neutral legal scholars and ... well, who knows what else.

It would be a radical move, one that would surely generate a spirited fight.

Which is why the time to start debating such a reform is now.