Tom Carper: “of the three branches of our Federal Government, the Supreme Court seems the most removed from the American people.…”

“of the three branches of our Federal Government, the Supreme Court seems the most removed from the American people. There are, as we know, only nine members of the Supreme Court. None of them, in the end, is accountable to the public. They certainly do not have to face groups of angry voters as you and I do from time to time, at townhall meetings or local potluck dinners, and they are probably thankful for that. However, their actions can have a tremendous and lasting effect on the lives of every American, probably more so than any Senator or Governor, or perhaps even more than many Presidents. For, in the end, the Supreme Court exists as the last bastion of protection for the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Americans. That is why I take so seriously, as I know you do, our obligation as Senators to provide advice and consent to our Presidents, as required by our Constitution, to determine whether their nominees truly merit a lifetime appointment to serve on our Nation's highest Court. When I voted for Judge John Roberts' nomination to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court last fall, I said standing here that it was a close call, at least for me. Ultimately, though, I chose to take what I described then as a leap of faith. As someone whose political and legal opinions are perhaps somewhat more conservative than mine, I knew Chief Justice Roberts would sometimes render decisions with which I may not be comfortable or entirely agree.…”