MICHAEL WALSH: US Ruled by Whim of a Single Supreme Court Justice.

With the court essentially evenly divided between the lockstep liberals of Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor on the one hand and Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch/Roberts on the other, the United States is effectively ruled by the whim of one man: the swing vote.

Once upon a time that vote belonged to former Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointee who “grew” in office during his 30-year tenure and, as the deciding vote in the 2015 Obergefell decision, ordered every state to facilitate and recognize gay marriage in contravention of thousands of years of civil and religious history. His work done, Kennedy retired in 2018.

Latterly, the role of king of America has been played by the Chief Justice Roberts himself, with Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch taking over on Wednesday and Sunday matinee performances.

Consider two recent developments.

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