‘Disappointing’ only begins to describe Roberts.
Vice President Mike Pence described Chief Justice John Roberts in a new interview as a “disappointment” to conservative voters, explicitly seeking to cast the Supreme Court as a campaign issue ahead of the November election.
“Look, we have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States…….But Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives — whether it be the Obamacare decision, or whether it be a spate of recent decisions all the way through Calvary Chapel.”
Mike Pence
The vice president’s criticism of the chief justice’s jurisprudence comes after Roberts sided with the high court’s Democratic appointees on several occasions in recent months, dealing the Trump administration defeats on issues including LGBT workplace discrimination, immigration and abortion.
Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, also joined his Democratic-appointed colleagues two weeks ago when the court rejected a Nevada church’s request to block the state’s cap on attendees for religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pence argued Wednesday that those decisions “are a reminder of just how important this election is for the future of the Supreme Court.”
“We remember the issue back in 2016, which I believe loomed large in voters’ decisions between Hillary Clinton and the man who would become president of the United States…….And some people thought that it wouldn’t be as big an issue these days. But I think that’s all changed.”
Mike Pence
The vice president specifically cited the court’s ruling in June striking down a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, which critics said could have forced all but one of the state’s abortion providers to close.
“That’s a very modest restriction on abortion providers, but a narrow majority in the Supreme Court still said it was unacceptable,” Pence said. “And I think it’s been a wake-up call for pro-life voters around the country who understand, in a very real sense, the destiny of the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2020.”
The court’s public information office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Roberts on Pence’s interview.
Pence blasts Chief Justice John Roberts as ‘disappointment to conservatives’
Calamity Jane