US Supreme Court

The Ten Greatest Political Villains Of 2022! And An Addendum!

Ronald 3 Comments

Yesterday, I published a post on the ten greatest Political Heroes of 2022.

So now, it is time to indicate who I believe are the ten greatest Political Villains of 2022!

In no special order, I would list the following:

Republican House Minority Leader, possibly Speaker of the House (hopefully not), Kevin McCarthy of California, who time again and again showed he had no spine, being a supplicant to Donald Trump, and demonstrating no principle or ethics in his crazed desire to be Speaker, two heartbeats away from the Presidency. The thought of him being that close in the line of succession is horrifying, not that there are very good alternatives!

Election Denier, and symbol with clenched fist, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who promoted sedition and treason! He faces reelection in 2024 and should be soundly defeated!

Election Denier and most obnoxious Senator (with other competitors), Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who this author and blogger thought in 2016 was the most dangerous Republican running for President, even more than Donald Trump! He faces reelection in 2024 and should be soundly defeated!

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a man who once had some intelligence, but after Arizona Senator John McCain died, has become a total Donald Trump sycophant!

Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a very unstable and unpricipled excuse for a human being, who, somehow, was able to defeat one of the best US Senators of modern times, Russ Feingold, in 2010 and 2016, and then a very talented Lieutenant Governor, African American Mandela Barnes in 2022. Johnson is one of the worst figures in Senate history!

Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, an obnoxious and unprincipled man who, sadly, is likely to become House Judiciary Committee Chairman in the 118th Congress in 2023!

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who won his third term as Governor in 2022, despite his horrendous policies and lack of compassion, and is likely to pursue a Presidential candidacy for 2024!

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who won a vast reelection victory in 2022, and is seen as the front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, despite his intolerant and authoritarian bent, and his high level of arrogance and cockiness, on a multitude of issues. These include the COVID 19 Pandemic; Gay and Transgender Rights; Racial and Religious Minorities; interference in the teaching of History and Literature, and Manipulating School Boards and Libraries; and extreme Gerrymandering of Congressional Districts, which took away two African American seats, and gave the Republicans the control of the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress!

Arizona Republican Gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who used the same tactic as Donald Trump, promoting the “Big Lie” about her defeat in the recent elections in her state. She has just been repudiated in court in her attempt to reverse a clearcut victory by her opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Good riddance to the most obnoxious woman imaginable!

Finally, on this list, former President Donald Trump, the most dangerous and worst US President in American history, twice impeached, and a close ally of totalitarian dictators around the world, willing to overthrow the US Constitution, rule of law, and American democracy. He needs to be prevented from running again for President, and indictment and conviction on the four charges brought against him by the January 6 House Committee is essential, to prevent any future tyrant from taking the kind of actions that this most evil man took! He harmed so many Americans during his term, as well as having the responsibility for the deaths, destruction and violence, in the worst attack on the US Capitol since the War of 1812!

And now an Addendum:

The Supreme Court has become a disgraceful, power hungry, extremist right wing organization!

Chief Justice John Roberts has lost his desired reputation as the leader of his Court, and in particular, Clarence Thomas (appointed by George H. W. Bush) and Samuel Alito (appointed by George W. Bush) have been totally out of control, and both will go down as two of the very worst Supreme Court Justices in American history! The names and reputations of both Bush Presidencies are permanently besmirched as a result!

Affirmative Action On The Block Before The Supreme Court

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Affirmative Action has been a social policy for the past half century, and has allowed many people of color and women, who had been denied equality throughout American history, to have the opportunity to advance educationally, and enter many fields of work where they had been denied entrance.

Unfortunately, others, who were Caucasian, or male, or even Asian American ethnicity, lost opportunities that might have been theirs if there was no affirmative action programs.

So this issue is very complicated, but in the long run of history, it could be argued that affirmative action has been a positive concept, as unfortunately, there will always be those who are on the short end of any social change.

But, it is hard to believe that those who have been denied have not managed to succeed, just in a different manner and circumstance, as life is a challenge, and one cannot always gain everything one wants.

So, overall, it would be helpful if some form of affirmative action survived in the Supreme Court, as it now considers this issue, although it seems unlikely that it will survive this right wing Court in the present circumstances!

Donald Trump IS The Most Important Issue In Midterm Elections!

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After the January 6 House Committee hearings yesterday, and the Supreme Court unanimously rejecting Donald Trump’s attempt to manipulate the issue of the national security documents at his Mar A Lago estate, it has become perfectly clear!

The issue of the Midterm Elections next month is the issue of what will happen to American democracy, as Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the future of the American republic!

There are many other issues, including the “Election Deniers” crisis, abortion rights, the economy, gun violence, the climate crisis, the Ukraine invasion by the Russian Federation, and the future of the Joe Biden Presidency, among others.

But Donald Trump MUST be prosecuted, and prevented from being able to run for President again in 2024, as a first step above all else!

The Electoral Count Act needs to be revised so that what happened on January 6, 2021 cannot happen again, and since Trump promoted sedition and treason, he must be barred from the ability to run for public office, under the 14th Amendment, Section 3!

Will Women Decide The Abortion Controversy In The Midterm Elections Of 2022?

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A major question facing the future of women in American society is whether they will vote in sufficient numbers to decide the balance of power in the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2022.

Women, as with any defined group, of course are divided, but the number of women registering to vote has skyrocketed, and one would think that would favor action on preserving abortion rights taken away by the US Supreme Court in late June.

A key factor in the fight for Congress is to prevent the concept of a national abortion ban, as promoted by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and supported by many other Republicans.

This potential national abortion ban can only come about if the Republicans win substantial control of both houses of Congress, so the fight for the US Senate is of massive importance, for this and many other reasons.

On the state level, the battle for election of Governors who will veto any action by state legislatures on abortion is also crucial.

As it is, the percentage of women voting has been higher than men in every Presidential and midterm election cycle since 1984.

No wonder some right wing extremists would wish for the 19th Amendment, women’s right to vote, being added to the Constitution in 1920, to be repealed!

Voting Rights Case About Alabama Gerrymandering A Threat To Destroy Voting Rights Law!

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THe Supreme Court is hearing a case about Alabama gerrymandering, that could eliminate “black districts” for US House Of Representatives seats, diminishing representation for racial minorities.

If the Court ruled in favor of Alabama, we could be back to the era of “Jim Crow”, where African Americans were not represented in any way where they would have impact and influence.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been extensively weakened since Shelby County Alabama V Holder in 2013, and it now seems likely that a major reform initiative of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society is in danger of being eliminated!

The Supreme Court Opens Its Most Controversial Term In Decades!

Ronald 2 Comments

Today is the opening day of the Supreme Court term, and it likely will be its most controversial term in decades.

With a solid right wing tilt of six Justices, the Court seems likely to go against public opinion on many areas of constitutional law, including

Affirmative Action
Gay Rights
Voting Rights
Environmental Regulations
Religion
Free Speech
The Powers of State Legislatures

Public opinion image of the Supreme Court has dropped dramatically, and there have been massive negative reactions to the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in late June which declared abortion unconstitutional, nearly 50 years after Roe V Wade was decided in 1973.

The minority liberals on the Court, specificially Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, have been very outspoken in their criticism of the extremist agenda of the present Court, the most conservative, by far, since the 1920s!

There is much to fear as basic constitutional rights are being eliminated, it seems, with glee, led by Justice Samuel Alito (appointed by George W. Bush) and Clarence Thomas (appointed by George H. W. Bush), but joined in by the three Donald Trump appointees (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett) in most decisions, leaving Chief Justice John Roberts almost as an outsider, having little impact on trying to tame, to some extent, the rightward swing of the Court!

The only good news is the coming to the Court of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American female in the history of the Supreme Court, and the fact that all three liberals now on the Court are women, along with Amy Coney Barrett.

But the future of constitutional law is in danger from the extremist agenda of the majority, an alarming situation!

Constitution Day: 235 Years And Counting, But Question About Its Survival In Future!

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Today is Constitution Day, the day in 1787 when the Founding Fathers signed the Constitution.

No one in their right mind would think that those who signed the Constitution believed there should be no changes ever made, or that what was in the Constitution was cement that could not be altered.

And yet, today, we have a majority Supreme Court which thinks we should go back to 1787, what is called “Originalism”.

This is pure insanity, and undermines the ability of government to adapt to changing times.

Most of what is considered “normal” today in constitutional terms is far from just the original document, and reflects the changing times.

And we are faced with a threat, greater than the Civil War or the Great Depression and World War II, to our ability to maintain a constitutional government based on the rule of law, as Donald Trump and his minions are a dire threat to America’s democratic future!

Democratic Party Fundraising Overwhelms Republican Party Fundraising: Donald Trump And Abortion Rights Effect!

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The Democratic Party is on a roll, mostly caused, it seems, by the outrage over abortion rights being taken away by the Supreme Court in Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Hospital in late June.

The Republican Party is in serious trouble regarding financial efforts to back their candidates for the US Senate and for the Governorship races.

It seems as if the Republican Party will have to be vanquished to move them away from the insanity and craziness of the Extreme Right Wing and Donald Trump!

The Supreme Court Reputation In Tatters, And Chief Justice Roberts Seems Clueless!

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The US Supreme Court reputation is in tatters among all thinking, decent people, as the right wing extremist majority, made dominant by the appointments of Donald Trump, work to take away basic freedoms and rights!

The Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, taking away abortion rights from women after 49 years, reversing a precedent, is an outrage!

And the threat exists that contraception, gay marriage, and interracial marriage rights could be taken away in the near future, along with affirmative action, and environmental protections.

Chief Justice John Roberts seems clueless to this, and has lost control of his Court, and his name in history, as the leader of the Court, will be negative long term, unless he can bring pressure on other members to stop the extreme right wing tilt, which is making the Court look like a lawless institution!

Women And Young People Are Registering To Vote In Record Numbers, Due To Abortion Issue!

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Women of all ages and backgrounds, and young people in general, are registering to vote in record numbers, and the main reason is the denial of abortion rights by the Supreme Court in June.

That, plus the danger to American democracy represented by the “MAGA” Republicans, who are Fascist in orientation and empower Donald Trump, no matter what is emerging about his treason and sedition, are motivating Americans to realize that the Midterm Elections of 2022 are crucial for the future.

While the Democrats have a major problem historically, with the reality that the party out of power gains in the midterm elections that follow, this time, more than ever before, it is absolutely essential that Democrats keep control of both houses of Congress and do better in state legislatures and governorships, as otherwise, the Consitution and rule of law will be in danger!