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"The Only Thing That Matters is the Supreme Court" [1]
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Date: 2022-06-30
In September 2016, former U.S. House Speaker was the keynote at a real estate conference in Washington D.C. When the time came for audience questions, an executive from a New York multifamily development firm raised his hand. “Mr. Speaker, those of us who worked with Donald in New York know how dishonest he is. How can you support someone like that?” he said.
I was not taking notes, but Boehner’s response burned in my brain: “The only thing that matters is the Supreme Court,” he said. Boehner than proceeded to say that if Trump were elected (he was trailing most polls at the time), “there would be people around him that would stop him from doing anything stupid.”
I have thought about this often in recent years, and have written comments about it on occasion, but Boehner’s brief reply is extremely relevant today. One thought is to marvel at the naïveté of establishment Republicans who thought they could control Trump.
But whatever their distaste for Trump’s crudeness, they came out ahead and not many of them are bothered by the tradeoff that to get what they wanted they had to unleash a fascist on America. Only a few brave ex-Republicans have denounced their former party owing to any kind of principle.
No, Boehner’s quip brings into sharp focus that the radicalism of the Supreme Court in this term is the culmination of a long-term plan that has been an open secret in D.C. for decades. Dark money groups and the Federalist Society have been enacting a judiciary-stacking process during Republican presidencies for decades. Establishment Washington looked on in bemusement when it should have been horror.
The problem is not that Republicans have inflicted a “conservative” majority, or a group of justices with a disagreeable legal bent like “originalism,” which is a ridiculous and thoroughly debunked legal principle. No the problem is that America now has replaced democracy for a corrupt oligarchy of judges who have now revealed that they have no principles, no scruples, no honesty, and no concern about the people whose lives they now rule over.
The goal was never to have a conservative rule over America, the goal was always a power grab. With a solid majority in the Supreme Court, Democrats can’t rule even if they happen to win an election (which itself will soon be illegal with the blessing of the Thomas fascist court).
Democrats pass a tax law? Unconstitutional. Did you know that the constitution doesn’t mention Milton Friedman?
Health care for all? People died of all sorts of natural causes in the 18th century. It was good for them, it’s good for us.
Women’s rights? Surely you jest.
Act to combat climate change? Regulate banks? Sorry, businesses are people too, can’t take away their rights.
Make it difficult for Democratic constituencies to vote? Hey, state’s rights.
Democratic states pass laws regulating guns? No way, federal government rules.
Native Americans want rights? A tomahawk chop for you, buds.
The only solution is to get back hold of the judiciary, which will take a larger Democratic majority than we have now and Democrats (ahem, Joe Manchin) who will use whatever power they have. This is not impossible, but difficult given that there is no pretense anymore to fair elections. And if Democrats do prevail, Republicans with guns who think they are in a war with Satan aren’t going to commit violence on a massive scale, I fear.
Some 30 years ago Pat Buchanan’s social radicalism was a drag on the GOP and contributed to the election of Bill Clinton. All these years later, in a time when the country is seemingly more liberal when it comes to rights, and the younger generation is seemingly more tolerant, an even more extreme racist and fascist right-wing element has emerged … as a winning formula for the GDP. I just did not see that coming. It illustrates the power of propaganda and the excitement of radicals like white nationalists who were disengaged before. I don’t want to sound hopeless, but we are in for a huge struggle to ever get the country back on track.
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