In the end, what may matter most is the view of a mere nine people. Four current Supreme Court justices — two liberals and two conservatives — are likely to retire in the next eight years. So the 2016 election could decide the makeup of the next court — and whether reform happens anytime soon.
Hasen advises reformers to prep for an Armageddon-like showdown over the court’s future — and to develop their equality-based arguments now in preparation for a court that might be more receptive to future reforms based upon them. In this sense, Hasen’s book is best seen as a war manual designed to equip and fortify would-be reformers for a brutal and uncertain struggle that could drag on for years to come — but that must be waged to prevent our democracy from sinking deeper and deeper into plutocracy.