Many commentators, pundits, politicians, and talking heads, including President Joe Biden, criticized the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which effectively banned affirmative action by limiting the consideration of race in the college admissions process.
But a recent survey reveals that, despite intense resistance from the president and others, most Americans are on board with the decision.
A new survey issued on Sunday by ABC News and Ipsos found that 52% of Americans support the Supreme Court’s decision to limit the use of race as a factor in college admissions. Only 32% of respondents are dissatisfied with the outcome, while 16% are unclear about how they feel about the choice.
The ABC poll also found that two other measures condemned by a sizable number of progressives this week had more popular favor than the opposition but by far narrower majorities.
The poll found that 46% of participants favored a verdict that disallowed a plan by the Biden administration to cancel student debts, while 40% were opposed, and 14% were unsure. In addition, 43% of respondents in the ABC study approved of a court ruling in favor of a Christian website designer who refuses to construct websites for homosexual couples, while 42% disapproved and 14% indicated they didn’t have an opinion.
Despite its support for the decisions announced this week, the public seems concerned about the Supreme Court’s decision-making process. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre, just 33% of participants said they believed the Supreme Court reached its decisions “based on the law,” while 53% said the Court based its decisions “based on their partisan political views.”
Meanwhile, Biden and the Democrats support “packing the court,” which means installing enough Justices to the bench to regain the political advantage.
They do not object to the politicizing of the court. They object to not controlling it.
