Why My Worry?

A few emailers have asked what I see troubling in the Alito thank you note to Dr James Dobson. First, Supreme Court Justices should be very careful associating with overtly political entities, and you don’t get much more political than Dobson. Secondly, Dobson himself read it out loud on the air to brag of his influence on national affairs. Thirdly, there is more than just a hint of a constitutional quo for a political quid in the letter. That kind of horse-trading undermines the integrity of the court and the impartiality of the justices. Look: I endorsed Alito. But I hoped his jurisprudence would not amount to a carte blanche for whatever the Christianists demand. The letter suggests otherwise.