Progressive Arguments on Judicial Selection

The progressive Brennan Center has published Choosing State Judges: A Plan for Reform by
Alicia Bannon. It:

recommend[s] that states do away with state supreme court elections completely. Instead, justices should be appointed through a publicly accountable process conducted by an independent nominating commission. Furthermore, to genuinely preserve judicial independence, all justices should serve a single, lengthy term. No matter the mechanism by which they reach the bench, be it an election or an appointment by the governor or legislature, justices should be freed from wondering if their rulings will affect their job security. 

 I support this "single, lengthy term" view of judicial retention, but think much is lost in the Brennan Center's vague "A judge’s job is to apply the law fairly and protect our rights." This phrase can mislead people into believing that judges merely apply law made by someone else (constitution, statute) rather than make law, which judges have been doing for centuries in making the common law and in interpreting vague provisions of constitutions and statutes. The problem with advocating "an independent nominating commission" is hiding from the public the inevitable lawmaking function of judges (particularly state supreme court justices) and thus allowing powerful insiders (typically the bar) disproportionate power. Several states even go so far as allowing the bar to pick some members of the supposedly "independent" nominating commission.