Candidates nominated to become a Supreme Court Justice of the United States (SCOTUS) by Occupier of the Oval Office, Donald J. Trump, who were successfully seated, arguably are of the same ilk as is he. Mr. Trump is a twice impeached ex-Occupier of the Oval Office who has proven to be a xenophobic incompetent leader who is a liar, conman and charlatan – this truncated list of negative qualities is obviously by no means exhaustive – who refuses to let go of his ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Mr. Trump has always been very meticulous when it comes to the people that he chooses to surround himself with so he was likely just as meticulous about selecting those who he nominated to become Supreme Court Justices.
It is well known that Mr. Trump places an all but unmatchable value on loyalty; he expects the three Justices that he chose to be loyal to him! Based on this it is reasonable to assume that he vetted them thoroughly – whether directly or implied – on the loyalty issue. The fact that Mr. Trump moved forward and nominated them does not mean that these nominees agreed – again, whether directly or implied – to be loyal to him. But knowing how Mr. Trump operates – after the vetting, he would have had to believe in his mind that they understood that not committing to be loyal to him was a non-starter to their nomination. None of the three candidates that Mr. Trump nominated to the Supreme Court could have been confirmed without the strong help of then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham; especially nominee Amy Coney Barrett who was confirmed about a week before the 2020 election!
In light of what Republicans did to President Barrack Obama’s SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland, the blatant hypocrisy of the Republican Party is even more painful to witness and one would think that this shameful conduct by its leaders would cause at least some members to push back against it. But that is not the case. The Republicans have no shame and dignity down to every last member of the Republican caucus has taken a back seat. There are those who cry foul when some Democrats speak of expanding the Court because they do not believe that Democrats should stack the Court: what have the Republicans just done?! It appears that this new conservative Supreme Court is shifting its focus toward rolling back all of the hard-won civil rights battles that have been accumulated through blood, sweat and tears over the years. The shift is subtle but it is occurring. All Americans must be vigilant and remain that way if we are to protect the rights of all Americans. It is obvious that there are some who would prefer that this American Democracy become an Autocracy.
Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts the current spider-like Supreme Court is not only subtle and stealthy but it is opaque by way of the use of its’ Shadow Docket, especially when former occupier of the Oval Office Donald J. Trump was in office. It is spider-like, and this was a tactic likely concocted by Chief Justice Roberts, in that it sucks the life out of laws that it does not agree with but is too cowardly to take on head-on for fear of public backlash, and leaves the toothless hull of them in place. That way, there are those Americans who will believe that the law with its full effect is still in place and the Justices can argue that they did not strike it down. For example, do you remember when Chief Justice Roberts cast the key vote in gutting the Voting Rights Act? In the unlikely event that you do not remember that, certainly you remember what the SCOTUS just did by allowing Texas SB8 to stand, in essence overturning Roe v. Wade, without any opinion from a lower court or oral arguments and while admitting that the bill was unconstitutional.
There was an article by Amanda Marcotte in Salon about this decision. There was also an article by CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic concerning it. In both cases I think that they nailed it with regards to the John Roberts Supreme Court! You should read these articles and see what you think: Amanda Marcotte’s article is entitled ‘The “soft” overturn of Roe v. Wade exposes how far-right John Roberts has let the Supreme Court go’ and Joan Biskupic’s is ‘John Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court’. However, I must push back a bit on Ms. Biskupic’s article because I don’t think that Chief Justice Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court, rather I believe that it is doing exactly what he wants it to do while shielding him.
Simply reflect on Chief Justice Roberts’ concoction of the spider-like tactic in addressing the Voting Rights Act and the hull of it that continues to exist there while his reputation as an institutionalist remains intact and protected. And not only should you reflect on what happened with the Voting Rights Act and what just happened with Texas’ SB8, but contemplate this; while the Roe v. Wade controversy has the spotlight, John Roberts’ spider-like, stealthy Supreme Court is further sucking any remaining life out of the Voting Rights Act. In light of all of this, don’t be fooled by Justice Roberts joining the three dissenting Justices in slamming the majorities’ decision to let SB8 stand. As Rachel Maddow so often says on her show, don’t watch what they say, watch what they do. Republicans as a Party have lost their collective mind. They are flagrantly and frantically working to subvert the will of the American people and replace it with their own will and agenda.
Voters are the only medicine that can cure this problem so Republicans are even working to replace election officials who were elected by the people to oversee America’s voting process with people of their own choosing; people who will count and certify votes the way that they want them counted and certified. That way, they can place the people into office that they want to place in office and ignore the will of voters! This entire effort to subvert the will of the American people is predicated upon the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s “Big Lie.” Keep all of these things in mind when you are at the polls and always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line