A thumb on the scales

Justice Amy Coney Barrett will have enormous impact on the shape of American law and, in turn, American society and culture. We do not yet know about her skills inside the court’s conference rooms, but simple arithmetic will be enough. Based on her record, she will be beyond reliable as a member of a six-to-three majority. Chief Justice Roberts’ vision of “judges doing their level best to do equal right” cannot hold against that weight.

Justice Barrett is likely to sit until 2050 or so. But her presence on the court will never matter more than in the next two to four years. Within that time, given the inability of Congress to act, the court will decide whether we are to have a coherent plan for broad access to health care. Life-changing contests about climate, guns, and abortion are on the docket or poised to be.

But none of these issues is as fundamental to the life of our democracy as our right as citizens to elect our political leaders, and that right is now in doubt. Our president apparently intends to stay in office regardless of the outcome of vote-counting on and after the third of November. He could not be clearer about that. If he doesn’t gain a simple victory, our Supreme Court will have nothing less than the survival of our republic to decide.

Congress will not, in my opinion, overcome its paralysis within another four years. Nor would President Trump, if given a second term, slacken in his efforts to hold on to power in some way. Sooner or later, this court will weigh our future on scales that are completely out of balance. CHARLEY SANDAGE Mountain View