In the wake of the controversial rulings on Obamacare and
same-sex marriage, unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court have reached a
30-year high, with 68 percent of Republicans calling the justices “liberal,”
according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Pew found that 48 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the Supreme Court, while 43 percent view the court unfavorably. Unfavorable opinions of the court, while up only modestly since March (39 percent then), are the highest recorded since 1985.
The high court, which critics not long ago viewed as one
of the most conservative in U.S. history, is now favored by 62 percent of
Democrats compared to just one-third of Republicans — essentially a 2-1
margin.

As recently as the final months of George W. Bush’s last
term in office, 80 percent of GOP voters had a favorable opinion of the court,
according to Pew polling numbers.

But Pew found in its July 14-20 survey unprecedented
shifts in opinions about the justices driven by respondents at the two ends of
the ideological spectrum.

The biggest surprise is that just 5 percent – a barely
perceptible measure – of conservative Republicans believe the court is
conservative. As mentioned, 68 percent say the justices are liberal and about
one-fourth label the court as middle of the road.

In contrast, half of liberal Democrats now generally view
the current Supreme Court as middle of the road and about one in five of these
voters say that the justices are in tune with them – meaning they are
considered liberal.

Perceptions of the court have not changed much among
those in the middle of the ideological spectrum who don’t tend to overreact to
the court’s rulings, in either direction.

Pew found that 42 percent of moderate Republicans see the
Supreme Court as middle of the road, 40 percent say it is liberal and 13
percent say it is conservative. A nearly identical plurality of moderate
Democrats (43%) continue to say the justices are middle of the road.
Among independents, who reflect the centrist views of
Americans on issues such as Obamacare and same-sex marriage, the views of the court
changed very little. Some 41 percent say the court is in the middle, little
changed from 38% in the last Pew poll conducted in March.

 

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