Obviously, just kidding. However, I found this chat with Justice Stevens really interesting. The article is a little too thin to call it an “interview.” What? Someone who was on the high court for 30+ years doesn’t rate a full feature on cnn.com? Anyway, his quotes on his evolving attitudes towards the death penalty reveal exactly the kind of coherent, critical thought you need in a policymaking (sorry neocons, that’s what the high court is supposed to do) justice. It helps that I tend to agree with his assessment of the state of that particular policy (and many others) of course. Additionally, his arguments about the movement of the country/Republican Party are interesting, but hardly surprising. The Midwest in particular has a long history of progressive politics, from the Teddy Roosevelt-style, trust-busting Republicanism of the early 20th Century, to the agricultural progressive movements that were (still are in the case of Minnesota’s Farm Labor party) active in the region as well. All to say that Justice Stevens may not be that exceptional a Republican of a given time and place, although he is certainly hard to square with the more prominent Republicans of today. Anyway, quick interesting read about a longtime member of SCOTUS.
