Let’s hope it goes better than it did 23 years ago
The Republican party’s descent into post-ideological madness has been well documented over the years, here and elsewhere. Those of us who have been around a while started seeing it back in the 1980s when Newt Gingrich and his gang started to adopt scorched earth tactics to destroy their political opponents and it gained steam during the Clinton years with a tabloid strategy designed to titillate the electorate and offend the allegedly pious right wing Christians.
But it shifted into something more dangerous in the 2000 election when they decided that there were no holds barred when it came to holding on to power.
I was reminded of all that yesterday when this popped up in my social media feeds:
I assume that you all know what went down in that case so I won’t belabor it. In a nutshell, when the Republicans pulled out every shady stop in a state run by the candidate’s brother to ensure that recounts were stopped so that his rival would never go ahead in the election, we should have known that our democracy was more fragile than we thought. And when the Supreme Court surprisingly stepped in and two Justices, who had been nominated to the court by the candidate’s father, made up the 5-4 majority that ended the count and put their boy into the White House it was a warning shot across the bow.
The inherent corruption of the Republican party and the weakness of our democracy was on full display but we turned away. They all told us to “get over it.” They won, we lost.
It was only 16 years later that once again we had an election in which the winner of the popular vote lost the electoral college. And then it happened again in 2020, with each time the margins becoming exponentially larger. And the Republicans, emboldened by their previous victories and the enthusiasm of their deluded base for a celebrity demagogue, went all in with the electoral corruption.
Donald Trump put three justices on the Supreme Court, two of them through corrupt means engineered by the gravedigger of democracy, Mitch McConnell. Now, they have agreed to look at a couple of cases that could end the Special Counsel’s pursuit of justice for Donald Trump’s coup and insurrection in 2020. Everything is on the line this time.
The first concerns the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding which has been used against many of the January 6th insurrectionists and is one of the charges against Trump. The other is the specious notion of blanket presidential immunity, which the court agreed to consider but which has also been taken up by the DC court of appeals on an accelerated basis. Both of them will have serious consequences for the rule of law and the upcoming election.
It was inevitable that the Supremes had to weigh in eventually so it’s probably better that they do it sooner rather than later. I wish I had more confidence that they will do the right thing but having been scarred by that earlier intervention, and with the court majority made up of right wing ideologues and partisan hacks, I’m not sanguine.
But I am hoping for the best, as always. What else can we do?
Here at Hullabaloo we’ll be following this closely. We have no lawyers on board but we do read and watch the news obsessively and will try to bring you the best coverage and analysis we see. The legal maneuverings are some of the most important stories out there.
Here’s why it matters so much:
If you could help us keep this place going for the next year as we face the most important election of our lifetimes (and I really mean that!!!!) it would be most appreciated. Your generosity in the past has meant so much and I will always be grateful
I sincerely hope everyone can take a break from all the crazy, rest up and get ready for what’s going to be a very bumpy year.
Cheers,
digby
Happy Hollandaise everyone!