The Point: No one really knows who's on the Supreme Court

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January 31, 2022 | by Chris Cillizza and Shania Shelton

No one really knows who's on the Supreme Court

Every once in a while, it's good to be reminded of just how unfamiliar many Americans are with major Washington power players.

In the midst of the retirement announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer and the chatter about who will replace him, the Supreme Court has been all over the news in the past week.

And yet, as recent polling data from Marquette University Law School suggests, most people struggle to even form opinions about most of the justices on the court.

In Marquette's survey, a majority of Americas said they knew enough to offer opinions about only three of the nine justices: Clarence Thomas (55% were able to rate), Brett Kavanaugh (53%) and Sonia Sotomayor (50%).

(Sidebar: Kavanaugh is well-known but not well-regarded. The poll found that 32% of people had unfavorable opinions of him, while 21% viewed him favorably. That -11 net favorability was the worst of any of the nine justices.)

The only other justice to come close to being known by a majority of the public? The newest member of the court, Amy Coney Barrett, who 46% of respondents said they knew enough about to offer an opinion.

Only 1 in 5 people (21%) knew enough about Breyer to offer an opinion -- despite the fact that he has been on the nation's highest court since 1994. (Worth noting: The poll was in the field January 10 to 21, before Breyer announced his retirement.)

Those poll numbers reminded me of my single favorite -- and most revealing -- poll ever conducted about the Supreme Court (and the public's knowledge of it).

In the summer of 2010, Pew Research Center asked who the chief justice of the United States was. More than half (53%) of those surveyed said they didn't know. One in four (28%) named John Roberts as the correct answer.

Then it got really good: Eight percent named Thurgood Marshall, who was never the chief justice and died in 1993. Another 4% said Harry Reid, who was a member of the Senate at the time.

All of this is somewhat remarkable given the sway the court has over the laws of the country. The Supreme Court has legalized same-sex marriage and is set to rule on a challenge to Roe v. Wade -- and that's just in the last few years.

The Point: For people -- like me -- who follow this stuff very closely, it's hard to imagine, but important to remember, that so many people know so little about the country's highest court. It also puts to rest the idea that a Supreme Court nomination can fundamentally swing an election.

-- Chris

TRIVIA TIME!

Who was the first president to fly in an airplane?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I want to make sure we don't have a vacancy there for any time at all. So yes, absolutely, let's move forward. A lot of the people have been vetted."

-- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on whether he would support a quick confirmation process for the next Supreme Court nominee

MONDAY ON THE SOCIALS

1. When she's right, she's right

2. A very important chart

3. How to write well

4. Earvin!

5. What a bet

CHRIS' GOOD READS

The Washington Post suggests that HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra may be the sacrificial lamb for the Biden administration's messaging problems on Covid-19.

The cracks in the Trump base are beginning to show even as the former President looks more and more like a 2024 candidate, reports The New York Times.

This is a stunning read from The Atlantic on what went wrong in the pullout of American troops from Afghanistan.

The proposed congressional map in New York could, according to Roll Call, make up for lots of Democratic losses elsewhere in the country.

I like amazing facts! Mental Floss offers up 135 of them. (My fav? Queen Elizabeth II is a trained mechanic.)

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

I am always on the hunt for new music. This song from Isik Kural -- called "paperhat" -- is weirdly joyous. (Thanks, NPR Music!)

TRUMP VS. HIS CANDIDATES ON VACCINES

As former President Donald Trump ramps up his political activity ahead of the midterms, CNN's Gabby Orr offers this report:

"Many Donald Trump-backed candidates who have blindly embraced his falsehoods about the 2020 election are showing a rare willingness to buck the former President on a most controversial question: whether or not Americans of all ages should get vaccinated against Covid-19.

"While Trump has recently taken aim at vaccine skepticism -- rejecting concerns about its efficacy in a December interview with far-right commentator Candace Owens and revealing that he received a booster dose -- some of his top proxy candidates are promoting a contrary message on the campaign trail.

"They range from gubernatorial candidates like Kari Lake in Arizona to Republican House candidates like Steve Carra and Joe Kent, both of whom are challenging GOP incumbents who voted to impeach Trump last year."

ONE BIG NUMBER

70%

Seven in 10 Americans agree with the sentiment that "it's time we accept that Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives," according to a new Monmouth University poll.

TRIVIA TIME ANSWER

On October 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt flew in a Wright Brothers plane at Kinloch Field in St. Louis. Roosevelt, who had just left office, was at an air show when pilot Archibald Hoxsey invited him to take a spin. The former President obliged. (There's even video of it!)