(Image
via
Getty)
Justice
Ketanji
Brown
Jackson,
who
once
out-acted
Matt
Damon,
took
a
turn
on
Broadway
recently,
with
a
one-time
cameo
in
&Juliet.
And
conservatives
are
very,
very
mad
about
it.
Look,
there’s
an
argument
to
be
had
that
the
justices
should
not
stray
into
becoming
fixtures
of
popular
culture
—
indeed
there’s
a
plausible
claim
that
Justice
Ginsburg’s
refusal
to
retire
was
fueled
in
part
by
support
she
cultivated
as
pop
icon
“Notorious
RBG.”
And
there’s
a
solid
counterargument
that
figures
holding
the
sort
of
power
Supreme
Court
justices
wield
over
policy
should
be
more
accessible
than
a
cloistered
aristocracy
nixing
constitutional
rights
from
on
high.
Either
way,
a
one-off
appearance
in
a
show
is
hardly
moving
any
needles.
But
Carrie
Severino
of
the
Concord
Fund
—
the
entity
formerly
known
as
the
Judicial
Crisis
Network
—
is
not
pleased
AT
ALL.
It’s
a
real
mystery
why
Broadway
might
not
be
as
chummy
with
people
dedicated
to
making
life
more
miserable
for
women
and
gay
people.
But
also…
are
the
conservative
justices
not
interested
in
being
popular
icons?
Sam
Alito
went
out
and
got
people
to
knight
him.
Neil
Gorsuch
spent
his
Federalist
Society
speech
pining
for
a
social
media
squirrel.
And
conservatives
generally
love
tying
themselves
to
more
liberal
colleagues
to
bask
in
reflected
popularity.
It
seems
like
they
are
desperately
thirsty
for
popularity
—
especially
in
the
form
of
rock
star
status
at
Federalist
Society
events.
Just
because
they
aren’t
courting
the
same
audiences
doesn’t
mean
they
aren’t
just
as
obsessed
with
being
popular.
And
this
rant
from
a
former
Thomas
clerk
carries
(pun)
a
whole
lot
of
“I’m
not
mad,
please
don’t
put
in
the
newspaper
that
I
got
mad”
energy
on
behalf
of
justices
who
really
want
to
be
in
the
next
revival
of
A
Man
for
All
Seasons
starring
Kevin
Sorbo
or
whatever.
“Queer
Broadway
musicals.”
There
we
go!
It’s
refreshing
when
the
bigots
say
the
quiet
part
out
loud,
isn’t
it?
Also
what’s
this
“barely
leave
their
homes”
noise?
Thomas
and
Alito
don’t
seem
to
have
any
problems
leaving
the
house
if
someone
else
is
paying!
Thomas
is
even
willing
to
take
a
loan
—
possibly
a
fully
forgiven
one
—
for
a
mobile
home
from
an
interested
executive
if
the
circumstances
present
themselves.
He
drives
that
thing
all
over
the
country!
Hemmingway’s
article
notes
that
people
occasionally
protest
conservative
judges.
In
particular,
Mollie
points
to
protests
at
the
Capitol
over
Brett
Kavanaugh’s
confirmation
while
conspicuously
avoiding
any
allusion
to
the
whole
“attempted
rape”
part
of
those
hearings.
That
seems
like
it
would
be
a
significant
caveat!
Not
that
it’s
slowed
him
down.
Kavanaugh
and
Gorsuch
took
(arguably)
less
problematic
luxury
trips
on
ASS
Law’s
dime.
And
according
to
Times
reporting
about
Gorsuch’s
junket
(summarized
by
Business
Insider)
the
justices
have
a
lovely
time
on
these
trips.
-
Gorsuch
was
hosted
in
an
“aristocratic”
old-town
apartment
in
Padua
at
the
school’s
expense
in
2018. -
He
was
flown
there
at
a
cost
of
$3,771. -
Gorsuch
was
asked
to
help
pick
which
Italian
city
would
host
his
teaching
trip. -
He
only
had
to
teach
in
the
mornings. -
Gorsuch’s
accommodation
in
Iceland
in
2021
cost
$5,250.
These
teaching
trips
aren’t
solely
the
province
of
conservative
justices
—
Justice
Kagan
joined
Gorsuch
on
his
Iceland
trip
—
but
it
does
go
a
long
way
toward
dispelling
the
abject
nonsense
claim
that
the
Court’s
right
wing
“can
barely
leave
their
homes.”
But
the
key
to
running
a
judicial
crisis
network
is
pretending
that
there
is,
in
fact,
a
judicial
“crisis”
all
the
time.
And
it’s
all
about
how
everyone
doesn’t
like
them…
nature’s
perfect
snowflakes.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
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