Judges routinely defer to the will of the legislature and the executive. This is exactly opposite of their intended duty. A judge’s job is to be a thorn in the side of the other two branches; he is to be their conscience, if political animals can be said to have such a thing.
How about some more judicial activism, then? Most of the laws Congress passes are unconstitutional. A judge who defers to Congress isn’t doing his job. More activism on that front would be most welcome.
What a shame then, that progressives and conservatives so often misuse the word “activist” as a slur to describe any judge they disagree with, no matter how submissive that judge actually is. Their intellectual sloppiness has cost a useful word its true meaning.
Inertia Wins! 