"They are politically elected and act in a political way," said Kennedy, who was nominated for the high court by President Reagan. But "there should be a recognition that a good judge can be willing to change his mind or change her mind."
"What's going on now, there's a lot of fingerpointing, 'Oh, the Democrats are holding this up,'" Kennedy said. "Both parties have been guilty of this, there's some payback going on here, but I think it's time for them to come together."
Kennedy is often the swing vote and hardest to read ideologically. His point that justices often change their minds is born out in history. Justices are on the court a long time and new issues arise. You can never tell how someone is likely to vote 5 years down the road. A President Kennedy's nominee, Byron White voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in the early 90s, and 5 republican appointees voted to affirm it. The real question should be whether we are getting the kinds of judges that will interpret the law instead of inventing it on the spot.
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