Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

The Loaded Gun

 Man, after sitting with the SCOTUS decision yesterday for a while, it's pretty clear that they have taken upon themselves powers that are far beyond what any Court has claimed. Combined with the Chevron reversal, the Supreme Court is basically taking away the ability of the Executive and Legislative branches ability to govern without their consent...without saying what they will consent to.

As for the broad immunity that SCOTUS granted, it's pretty clear that that will only apply to Republican presidents. Trump can launch an autogolpe, but Hunter Biden's laptop is a criminal offense, etc.

One thing that I don't think the Federalist Six have considered is that they have handed Biden a very, very powerful campaign issue. The first is the simple partisan lawlessness of the Court itself. The legitimacy of the Court is pretty much in the toilet right now, with even moderate Senators raising the idea of expanding the Court. The most important reform - term limits - is impossible without a Constitutional Amendment, but there are ways to limit or dilute the Court's powers and that is absolutely on the table now.

The better issue, though, is the one Biden raised last night: this SCOTUS ruling makes the character of the president more important than ever. By removing most legal constraints on presidential action, they have put a premium on the president himself restraining himself from doing outrageous things.

There was some desperate/sardonic suggestions that Biden use his new found powers to assassinate the judges or Trump as national security threats. Biden, of course, won't do that, and THAT is the campaign issue he can run on. 

The whole "Democracy is on the ballot" thing is both true but abstract. This ruling is a loaded gun aimed at the heart of American liberty from monarchical power. Whose hand do you want on the trigger?

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