@ChallengeApathy@toriver@QasimRashid The Colorado state Supreme Court is appointed but each member has to win retention votes to remain on the court. 6 of 7 current judges have won retention elections. So, while not elected in the traditional sense, they are supported by the voting public.
@toriver@QasimRashid The doctor analogy is a bit flawed. You get to choose what doctor you go to (within reason). It's not legality the Colorado Supreme Court determined, it's politics. This whole thing really does boil down to the ruling class acting as if voters can't make decisions for themselves. I, for one, am fully capable of doing my research and making up my own mind without the help of mass media, big tech algorithmic manipulation and, yes, without the help of an unelected court stepping out of its bounds to play party politics.
@ChallengeApathy@QasimRashid As they have done. Election qualifications are part of the laws. Being «unelected» is not a disqualification for doing their job. Is your doctor «elected»? No. Being «elected» to a position is a rarity, most people are hired. That does not make them worthless. Unless you want a separate political class that runs unsupervised by others.
@toriver@QasimRashid Indeed, but the courts are there to determine the legality of legislation, not to determine what candidates can run. They're unelected. It's not their role to decide politics, it's their role to determine legality.
@ChallengeApathy@QasimRashid Then you will want to change the Constitution to remove the Electoral College and take the responsibility of running elections away from the states. As it is now, elections are PER STATE.
@QasimRashid I'm not going to get political but the idea of a single state court being capable of banning a candidate from running sets a very, very bad precedent for EVERYONE. A candidate should only be banned either by the SCOTUS or by a 75% majority of state supreme courts. It shouldn't be permissible for one state to determine who can and cannot run.
@horse@toriver@QasimRashid I appreciate the explanation but this is still an issue. With a representative or senator, you're able to impact the way they vote in congressional hearings where there's proper debate.
@ChallengeApathy@toriver@QasimRashid I would fully agree with you if Supreme Court justices lived in isolation chambers completely separate from public opinion or <gestures wildly at the world>.
If elections keep reps and senators (at least somewhat) beholden to the public, why don't elections do the same for justices?
@horse@toriver@QasimRashid Fair perspective, neighbor (PA native here). I just don't think anything as important as dictating the future of our federal government should be left up to oligarchs, regardless of what sort of oligarchs those are. Something that big should be, at the very least, heavily and transparently impacted by the public at large. These people are supposed to represent all of us, not just a select few and that's why this precedent concerns me.
It's really not about politics for me in this specific case, just about the precedent it sets. We're in more dire straights than we've been in since the Civil War and this partisan goofiness isn't helping. We have differences but both sides demonize each other instead of recognizing that the system WANTS us to do that: a house divided cannot stand.