The recent Supreme Court rulings and Anthony Kennedy's decision to retire show that we can't rely on our elites--or our institutions--to constrain Donald Trump's attacks on liberal democracy.
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Remember when all the "serious" social scientists argued that Trump wouldn't really be able to get much done as President? "He’ll sit here, and he’ll say, ‘Do this! Do that!’ And nothing will happen," they said.
Well, it hasn't quite turned out like that.
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Well, it hasn't quite turned out like that.
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Over the past year, the administration has proven more and more effective in turning Trump's preferences into America's public policy. From immigration to trade, and from foreign policy to health care, he is effecting big and worrying changes.
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And the problem is not just that the administration is proving to be more effective than we might have hoped; it's also that the institutions which were supposed to constrain it are proving far more pliant than we might have feared.
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The Republican Party has been fully Trumpified.
As a result, Congress is failing to check his power. Institutions like the House Intelligence Committee, once reasonably bipartisan, are running interference for the president. Trump won't ever be impeached--whatever he does.
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As a result, Congress is failing to check his power. Institutions like the House Intelligence Committee, once reasonably bipartisan, are running interference for the president. Trump won't ever be impeached--whatever he does.
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But until the beginning of this week, we could at least invest our hopes in one institution: the Supreme Court. Though its majority took an increasingly conservative line, it looked likely to serve as a bulwark against the most blatant attacks on liberal democracy.
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This week has seriously undermined my confidence that the Supreme Court could save us from the worst abuses of Trump's power.
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First, SCOTUS voted to uphold the travel ban, violating the rights of Muslims.
Second, SCOTUS voted to uphold voting maps blatantly gerrymandered to dilute the black vote.
Both of these decision--taken on strictly partisan lines--are clear attacks on liberal democracy.
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Second, SCOTUS voted to uphold voting maps blatantly gerrymandered to dilute the black vote.
Both of these decision--taken on strictly partisan lines--are clear attacks on liberal democracy.
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The most shocking thing about these decisions is how much influence the prevailing political winds are clearly having on the country’s highest court.
Far from being immune from public opinion, Kennedy et al. have allowed Trumpism to bleed into their jurisprudence.
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Far from being immune from public opinion, Kennedy et al. have allowed Trumpism to bleed into their jurisprudence.
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That's also why Kennedy's retirement only consummates his abdication of responsibility. Instead of staying on the Supreme Court to fight against executive overreach, Kennedy has chosen to let a deeply dangerous president and his allies steer a badly damaged ship out to sea.
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Kennedy's failure to stand up for the principles of liberal democracy at such a crucial moment is sadly indicative of a much larger failure of our political elites: nearly none of them are living up to duties power conveys in extraordinary times such as ours.
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There's now going to be a lot of debate about what Democrats should do: Evaluate Trump's pick on professional comptence and ideoloical moderation? Or follow in McConnel's footsteps and refuse to give Trump's pick a hearing?
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Both choices are terrible.
Gorsuch seemed to have real commitment to constitutional values. And yet, he has proven eminently willing to undermine equal protection laws and render our elections less fair. There's no reason to think Trump's next pick would act differently.
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Gorsuch seemed to have real commitment to constitutional values. And yet, he has proven eminently willing to undermine equal protection laws and render our elections less fair. There's no reason to think Trump's next pick would act differently.
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If Democrats emulate McConnell, they give up their claim to being consistent defenders of the constitution. Since Republicans have an inbuilt advantage in the Senate, the new norm would only come back to hurt them. Oh, and they don't have the numbers to make it work anyway!
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Trump is consolidating his power. It's no longer clear that any single institution in the United States will consistently prove willing to stand up to his assault on our democracy. Even by the standards of the past two years, this is a very dark day for our country.
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