I know I am dreaming, but what if there were some sort of national movement to oust the worst of the worst of our judges? This movement would obviously have to have state and local branches to be effective. The left has been very successful at blocking all but the most leftist judicial appointments at the Federal level. They win because they are organized and they are not afraid to fight!
How many times are elected judges (both good and bad judges) re-elected by default because no one has kept tabs on their decisions? What if there were a clearinghouse for information about judges that a citizen could use without having to be a legal expert? We could gradually improve the quality of our judges -- sometimes whoever replaces an ousted judge would be just as bad, but not always.
The left has pretty much had the judiciary as home turf. It is time we "invaded" this turf. Perhaps we could destabilize the left by open means (trying to impeach bad judges) and also by more stealth means (being better-informed and organized about what elected judges to support or oppose). This would make the left have to defend itself from every direction. It would be crucial for them to keep leftist judges in office. Even if they are able to retain a bad judge, we will have had a partial victory by keeping the left destabilized and forcing them to use their resources in matters they are usually given by default.
I think the left and the right put too much faith in the idea that they can put their people in the U.S. Supreme Court. While the Supreme Court is important, I think there is a lot that can be done at a lower level. I am obviously no legal expert. It seems to me that if there is an organized effort by the left to elect and appoint bad judges and there is no organized effort from our side, the left will always win by default.