The Supreme Court is a Joke

Accessories to autocracy

I don’t care that they work in an imposing marble edifice on Capitol Hill infused with history.

I don’t care that they wear black robes. 

I don’t care that they graduated from illustrious law schools or are fluent in the precepts of legal writing. 

I don’t care that they swore an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

I don’t care that they represent one of the co-equal branches of government. 

I don’t care because none of that impresses me. What I do care about is that they are judicious. And I care about the damage they are inflicting on the nation. 

This Supreme Court and its majority of reactionary justices are actively working to undermine American democracy. They are accessories to autocracy. They are doing the bidding of a dangerous con artist. 

They are a joke, but one that isn’t funny in the least. 

It is fitting that the day Mitch McConnell announces he is stepping down as the Republican leader in the Senate, the fruits of his corrupt and cynical reign bear fruit once again. The Supreme Court, in agreeing to hear arguments in Trump's absurd claims that he is protected from prosecution for his actions on January 6 because of alleged “immunity,” showed its fealty to the corrupt ex-president who ensured and expanded its right-wing majority and the man in the Senate who engineered this end-run around democratic fairness. 

The justices put hearings on the docket for April, which will delay the trial massively, likely until after the election, which was the entire point.

The Supreme Court has been infected with the MAGA virus, even though the justices are canny enough to try to shield the diagnosis behind legalistic niceties. They cannot be allowed to get away with it. It is essential that the press and all who say they care about the continuation of our republic treat these two-bit politicians with the disdain that they richly deserve. 

McConnell’s chilling insight was that Republican policy priorities — such as promoting the proliferation of guns, banning abortion, gutting environmental protections, undermining voting rights, and enacting all the other right-wing's fevered dreams — could never be accomplished through political means because they are so unpopular. So he hacked the system through the judicial branch filling the lower courts and the Supreme Court with true believers willing to say, precedent be damned, let the ends justify our means. 

None of these men or women were elected. Most of them were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote. And they have lifetime appointments, making their elevation to serving as our overlords all the more agonizing and infuriating. 

But there may be a silver lining; perhaps by showing their true colors, the court can be a rallying point for public repudiation. 

We have seen the court’s actions on abortion fuel a significant backlash. Can this Trump case and other unpopular rulings amplify widespread anger? Will it lead to a defeat for Republicans in November? 

There would be a certain poetic justice if the actions of these so-called “justices” led to a voter backlash at the polls. If the Democrats return to power, they will have to find ways to confront this shameful threat to American democracy coming from within. It would also be nice to see Trump face criminal trials that he could no longer dismiss or delay. 

Hopefully, justice will win out, and these justices will be exposed for what they indeed are — a shameful stain on the history of this nation.

“We the People” can prevail.