Reply #80: Stevens refused to go because he felt the SOTU had become a "political" event [View All]

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Pretty much the same reason that Scalia hasnt attended since 1997 (and the reason Thomas has given for his non attendance since the late 1990s). I have not found anything indicating why Souter didn't attend, although the safe bet would be that it was for the same reason that the others elected not to go. The sad fact is that the SOTU has become political theater, starting during the Reagan years when the repubs began the practice of acting like a bunch of sports fans cheering their star performer. While it was satisfying to get some payback when the Democrats did the same thing during the Clinton years, the net result has been to cheapen the event. While I don't take issue with those members of the Court that consistently choose to attend, neither do I take exception to those who consistently choose to stay away.