Justice Ginsburg was recently quoted as saying how much she enjoyed a recent bit on the Supreme Court done by comedian John Oliver. In case you missed it, Oliver hit upon a way to get people to listen to Supreme Court oral arguments even though they aren't televised. If you haven't seen it, it's quite ridiculous (and funny).
Why do something ridiculous in order to get people to pay attention to what the Supreme Court does? Oliver explains:
Because what happens at the Supreme Court is way too important not to pay attention to.
He's right about that. Whatever you may think about the comedy bit, you can't deny the importance of the Supreme Court. When targeted Americans are turned away from the polls due to strict voter ID laws, thank the Roberts Court. When women are denied access to affordable contraception because it offends their bosses, it's because of the Supreme Court. When you're forced to sign away your right to sue giant corporations when they violate your legal rights, thank the Roberts Court.
This term, the Supreme Court will be deciding cases affecting the federal government's power to eradicate housing discrimination, employers' ability to evade overtime and antidiscrimination laws, legislators' ability to reduce African Americans' voting power, and other critically important issues. They may also end up determining the constitutionality of right-wing efforts to shut down reproductive health clinics and sabotage the Affordable Care Act.
So yes, John Oliver did his comedy bit to get a laugh. But what he says remains true: "The Supreme Court is way too important not to pay attention to." Especially on Election Day, since the senators elected next week may vote on filling as many as four Supreme Court vacancies during their six-year terms. If you care about the Roberts Court's attack on voting rights, workers' rights, women's rights, consumers' rights – and if you're concerned about decisions like Citizens United – then take that into consideration when you vote.