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Because of the blockage of Merrick Garland, we are stuck with a generation of decisions where some very smart conservative justices pretend to believe some very flimsy pretexts to protect conservative political power.
With Shelby vs. Holder, John Roberts gutted the Voting Rights Act when it came to protecting minority voters. Now, he winks along with the obviously disingenuous claim that the Trump administration needs a citizenship question to enforce the VRA.
Roberts, we are told, cares intensely about SCOTUS legitimacy. But he does not appear to be following any distinct judicial philosophy beyond doing what it takes to maintain GOP power. Hard to imagine anything more likely to weaken SCOTUS legitimacy & invite fundamental reform.
Radical reform like courtpacking becomes more and more palatable as people see the current court as a jerry-rigged partisan instrument. Upholding the Census citizenship question pushed by Kris Kobach & Steve Bannon is another step on that path. npr.org/2018/11/04/661…
Include SCOTUS in a broader pattern:
"Democracies ultimately depend on having stable rules and norms that support those rules—even when things don’t go your way. We agree to this basic logic as citizens; it’s central to our social contract with the state." washingtonpost.com/opinions/wisco…
"Democracies ultimately depend on having stable rules and norms that support those rules—even when things don’t go your way. We agree to this basic logic as citizens; it’s central to our social contract with the state." washingtonpost.com/opinions/wisco…
Hard not to conclude the conservative SCOTUS majority is working in tandem with the GOP to facilitate voter suppression
