John Cornyn: “it is no secret that, in recent years, the Supreme Court has become a political target for our friends across the aisle…”

“it is no secret that, in recent years, the Supreme Court has become a political target for our friends across the aisle, the Democrats. I still remember a time--maybe it was a quaint period during our Nation's history--when Robert Jackson, former Supreme Court Justice, said: The Supreme Court is not final because it is always right. It is right because it is always final. The point is, there has to be someplace, somewhere in the U.S. Government, where decisions are made on something other than a political basis. We know that in Congress--the political branches of government--we run for office; we stand for reelection. The voters can agree with us or disagree with us based upon our actions, and we will then be held accountable at the ballot box. The same is true for the President of the United States, the head of the executive branch. But the judicial branch is supposed to be different. Judges don't stand for election. They can't be removed from office for virtually anything other than impeachable behavior, which is rare indeed, and Congress can't reduce their pay during their tenure in office. All of these are designed to preserve the independence of the judiciary. Justice Scalia, during his lifetime, liked to observe that constitutions are simply words on paper, and he pointed out that the Soviet Union--the former Soviet Union--had one of the best constitutions on paper that existed at the time.…”