John Roberts comes face to face with the mess he made
Robertss captivity is entirely fitting: He is forced to witness, with his own eyes, the mess he and his colleagues on the Supreme Court have made of the U.S. political system. As representatives of all three branches of government attend this unhappy family reunion, the living consequences of the Roberts Courts decisions, and their corrosive effect on democracy, are plain to see.
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Ten years to the day before Trumps impeachment trial began, the Supreme Court released its Citizens United decision, plunging the country into the era of super PACs and unlimited, unregulated, secret campaign money from billionaires and foreign interests. Citizens United, and the resulting rise of the super PAC, led directly to this impeachment. The two Rudy Giuliani associates engaged in key abuses the ouster of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, the attempts to force Ukraines president to announce investigations into Trumps political opponents gained access to Trump by funneling money from a Ukrainian oligarch to the presidents super PAC.
The Roberts Courts decisions led to this moment in indirect ways, as well. The courts 2013 ruling in Shelby County gutted the Voting Rights Act and spurred a new wave of voter suppression. The decision in 2014?s McCutcheon further surrenderedcampaign finance to the wealthiest. The 2018 Janus decision hobbled the ability of labor unions to counter wealthy donors, while the 2019 Rucho ruling blessed partisan gerrymandering, expanding anti-democratic tendencies.
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Its a symbiotic relationship. On the day the impeachment trial opened, the Roberts Court rejected a plea by Democrats to expedite its consideration of the latest legal attempt by Republicans to kill Obamacare. The court sided with Republicans who opposed an immediate Supreme Court review because the GOP feared the ruling could hurt it if the decision came before the 2020 election.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/23/john-roberts-comes-face-face-with-mess-he-made/
OnDoutside
(19,906 posts)SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)sheshe2
(83,324 posts)I will read the rest tomorrow. What I have read breaks my heart.
Thank you for posting the truth.
Love you.
SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)sheshe2
(83,324 posts)Hassler
(3,321 posts)oasis
(49,150 posts)DanieRains
(4,619 posts)Planet Earth be damned.
Democracy be damned.
Oligarch Rule!
pbmus
(12,418 posts)Botany
(70,288 posts)n/t
Hekate
(90,189 posts)DFW
(54,050 posts)"Die ich rief die Geister, werde ich nun nicht mehr los."
The spirits I have summoned, I can now no longer be rid of them.
SergeStorms
(18,882 posts)has come to fruition. Fascism now rests comfortably inside all three branches of the government - having hardly knocked at the door to gain access - and if republicans retain the White House and the Senate, Democracy will have been dealt it's death blow. There will be no more "good fight". It will be time to run from this country before the "cleansing" takes place. The great democratic experiment will have failed, miserably, and it will become one of those "shit hole" countries of which Donald Trump speaks.
The 2020 elections are the final chance for this country to get it right, IF the Russians and republicans will allow fair elections. The chances of that happening are about the same as the odds of Donald Trump becoming a decent human being.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)in concert to destroy this country with him at the helm.
dalton99a
(81,065 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,572 posts)brer cat
(24,401 posts)Very good piece. Thanks for the post, SunSeeker.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)Hopefully this article isn't implying that roberts has any regrets.
Marcuse
(7,391 posts)SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)Not to mention a billboard in South Carolina.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)for Graham, he overpaid.
MBS
(9,688 posts)(I was just about to post it myself!).
When Dana Milbank gets serious, he can be outstanding. And he's never been more serious than he is here.
Marcuse
(7,391 posts)ck4829
(34,974 posts)mrs_p
(3,012 posts)This is what he wants.
SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)FM123
(10,050 posts)Reminds me of a line in Alanis Morissette's song "You Oughta Know" (I dedicate it to Judge Robert's conscience)
And I'm here, to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair, to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know