Quick Notes #2
April 3rd, 2007
Scary. As today’s decision on EPA regulation has yet again demonstrated, there is a 4-member conservative block on the Supreme Court that decides on purely political grounds, and not based upon law. That block is, of course, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts. While Scalia was appointed by Reagan and Thomas by Bush 41, the most recent two were put there by Dubya–more evidence of what damage he has wreaked on the country. And since they were all installed very young (another prerequisite; three are still in their 50’s), they’ll continue to scar the legal landscape for decades.
The bad part of this is the decisions they’ll render for decades on end.
The supreme court is a harbor for rear guard ideologues. Long after the federalist party had bellied up and died, John Marshall, a federalist party appointment, was still dominating the Supreme Court.
But maybe there is a silver lining.
They’ll be reminders to the public of the harm of voting Republican for a long, long, long time.
They may provide for a prolonged and extended whiplash effect thrashing the Republican party.
The Republican party will be lucky to survive this. They almost went defunct in the 1930s because of the backlash from their decade of unimpeeded power in the 20s. Every Democract running for office will be able to point to their track record in the history books.
Unimpeded Republican power in the 20s gave us the great depression, the rise of hitler, WWII, the holocaust, and as Churchill implied in his ‘finest hour’ speech, nearly gave birth to a new dark age. That was the product of 10 years of unimpeded Republican rule in the 20s. Now we have 6 years of unimpeded Republican rule in the naughties, and the outcome from has been devistating enough, up to this date. It remains to be seen the total extent of the devistation, but the pattern, by then will be clear.
And the conservative quadraheads on the Supreme Court will be a living reminder of the folly of Republicanism for the next two or three decades.