Constitution Day at JMC

Attend James Madison College's Constitution Day Lecture with Dr. Dave Bridge. He will present on "Pushback: The Political Fallout of Unpopular Supreme Court Decisions."

Dr. Dave Bridge explores what happens after the Supreme Court makes unpopular rulings. Some have sparked grassroots pushback, whereby local communities have all but ignored the Court. In others, Congress successfully signaled to the judiciary that it should back off from an issue. Most significantly, the two major parties can use unpopular decisions to shift political momentum and win elections. After developing conditions for the potential to affect elections, Bridge puts them to the test with recent rulings on controversial issues such as Obamacare, same-sex marriage, religious liberty, affirmative action, and abortion. He concludes that the Democratic Party missed a major, and quite rare, opportunity in 2024. In prioritizing policy over politics, Democrats ceded millions of votes to the Republican Party.

Bridge is an associate professor of Political Science at Baylor University.