Bombs Away with SCOTUS!
Let’s take a little civics stroll down Memory Lane and revisit some key decisions made by an increasingly conservative Supreme Court. But keep your eyes looking above – for bombs! Here’s what I’m talking about…in abbreviated form.
Bomb 1: Bush v Gore 2000
Hanging chads > 61,000 undervotes > FL Supreme Court ordered a statewide recount > SCOTUS intervened > Recount Stopped > Bush won state by 537 votes > Bush won Florida’s 25 electoral votes > Bush squeaked into the presidency though he lost the popular vote…
Bomb 2 Citizens United 2010
Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit, challenged campaign spending limits > SCOTUS said yup, spending limits infringed on Freedom of Speech > limits lifted > massive increase in political spending by special groups > sources of political spending often opaque (dark money) > widening wealth gap > perception that democracy tilted in favor of the wealthy…
Bomb 3. Shelby County v Holder 2013
1965 Voting Rights Act Passed > certain political jurisdictions required to obtain “preclearance” before enacting voting rule changes > Shelby County, AL claimed preclearance unconstitutional > SCOTUS said yup Section IV of the VRA posed an undue burden and was no longer needed > preclearance lifted > within 24 hours Texas announced a strict photo id law > MS & AL quickly followed > a raft of restrictive voting measures passed in many states > Brennan Ctr for Justice held that these measures were an attempt to disenfranchise certain voters…
Bomb 4. Dobbs 2022
Dobbs > overturned Roe > removed right to privacy and bodily autonomy > states now have the right to limit abortions…
Note
The Constitution provides three types of protection from autocracy. First, the federal government is split into three more or less equal branches, just like we learned in junior high school. Second, issues not defined by the Constitution or courts default to the states. Conservatives maintain this gives the states the right to regulate abortion. However, their argument falls and fails before the third protection: the rights of individuals before both the federal and state governments. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, recognized that both federal and state governments could abuse power and therefore protected individuals by outlining their rights in the face of either federal or state overreach.
While you were watching for bombs above, did you notice the minefield created by Republican SCOTUS engineering? You know, the double standard for Senate approval of SCOTUS justices? When Justice Scalia died, Mitch McConnell held up President Obama’s nominee from February 2016 until after the presidential election in November. Yet when RBG died in September 2020, this same Mitch McConnell rushed through her Trump appointed replacement before the Biden Administration assumed power. No question, Republicans know how to play hardball and bend the norms and procedures, even if this accentuates partisanship and weakens the legitimacy of our government. Just win, baby!
Be prepared for more hijinks. If Trump is elected, look for both Justices Thomas and Alito to retire and be replaced by young conservative justices, ensuring a radically conservative SCOTUS for two generations. Here’s another scenario: Democrats win the presidency, but Republicans win the Senate and hold up any SCOTUS nominee for up to four years…
Republicans have not won the popular presidential vote since 2004 yet maintain an iron fisted grip on SCOTUS, in large part because of hard-ball Republican SCOTUS engineering with a big boost from the Electoral College.
VOTE DEMOCRATIC!!
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