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For the Supreme Court, it was an ominous fortnight.

—Forty-one Senators—only eight short of a majority—voted for the Jenner-Butler bill which sought to withdraw the Court’s jurisdiction in one area, and reverse its decisions in several others. Senator Bridges’ bill, a more limited measure directed only at the Nelson decision, failed by a single vote. And that vote, along with several others, was concededly attributable to the power of the majority leader to dispense favors and punishments. A year ago, any suggestion that anti-Court sentiment in Congress would reach such proportions would have been dismissed as visionary.

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L. Brent Bozell Jr.

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For the Supreme Court, it was an ominous fortnight.

—Forty-one Senators—only eight short of a majority—voted for the Jenner-Butler bill which sought to withdraw the Court’s jurisdiction in one area, and reverse its decisions in several others. Senator Bridges’ bill, a more limited measure directed only at the Nelson decision, failed by a single vote. And that vote, along with several others, was concededly attributable to the power of the majority leader to dispense favors and punishments. A year ago, any suggestion that anti-Court sentiment in Congress would reach such proportions would have been dismissed as visionary.