Conservative SCOTUS, Anti-democratic
I urge you to write to SCOTUS, and to POTUS, and to the Dept of Justice. They need to hear weekly that we are very dissatisfied with their actions. — Rick.
The Honorable xxxxx
The Supreme Court of the United States
One First Street N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20543
Dear Justice xxxxx,
“[This Court moves us] toward a system in which the few corruptly govern the many, something between autocracy and oligarchy. Instead of serving as a guardrail against going over that cliff, our Supreme Court has become an all-too-willing accomplice in that disaster.”
“A Supreme Court that has been effectively packed by one party will remain packed into the indefinite future, with serious consequences to our democracy.”
— Laurence H. Tribe, University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University
I have concluded the conservative wing of the Supreme Court no longer supports our American democracy. They are marching us away from equal representation and down into the dark hole of autocracy.
These conservatives have a putrid fascination with the Federalist Society, big business, and Trump-like Republican politics. These ideologies have corrupted their minds and values.
Appendix A is a long list of mistakes they have made over the last decade, including: failure to protect voting rights, failure to eliminate Partisan Gerrymandering, failure to give each citizen an equal voice in politics by sanctioning dark money in politics, failure of the Court to regulate itself concerning members and ethics, by its failure to side with the individual the conservative Court shows an extreme bias towards conservative corporate interests, and failure to curb abuses of the Court’s use of the so-called Shadow Docket.
Ever since the conservative’s side of the Supreme Court devalued voting rights, the Brennan Center for Justice reports that more than 425 restrict voting access bills have been introduced in 49 states, with 33 of these bills enacted across 19 states to date.
I no longer have any faith the conservative wing of the Supreme Court will protect our democracy.
In fact, I expect the conservative wing will take every opportunity to help the GOP and the MAGA crowd further weaken our democratic system of government. This activity is the opposite of the Court’s mission. Maybe it’s not clear, but the Supreme Court is tasked with protecting American democracy, not to destroy it. The Court must be populated with intellectuals who have a broad view of issues and trends. It should be able to weigh the consequences of its potential decisions. Instead, the current Court comes across as narrow-minded sophists who eagerly find ways to implement the dogma of the Federalist Society.
One last item I feel is so pernicious that it must be mentioned. Wearing masks is done to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during this pandemic. One of the conservative members of the Supreme Court is so mean-spirited, so domineering, that he refuses to wear a mask while sitting on the bench. He sits next to Justice Sonia Sotomayor who has health issues and a compromised immune system. When asked by the Chief Justice to wear a mask, he refused. This is a simple, basic, human curtsey to help protect the health of the other justices on the Court. The Supreme Court requires all visitors to not only wear masks, but to have a Covid test the morning they enter the building. But this MAGA conservative, will not protect his fellow justices from Covid.
Justice Sotomayor must work remotely due to this man’s arrogance. This is an example of how despicable the conservative side of the Supreme Court has become. They don’t care about other people, just their own priorities. Why hasn’t the Chief Justice mandated masks for all people in the Court, justices as well as the public? Is it that the conservative side of the bench feels so entitled, they eschew any minor control over their freedom?
Due to the conservative wing’s unwillingness to protect the democracy of the United States of America, I encourage the following justices to resign immediately: Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Your resignations would restore faith and trust in the US Supreme Court.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Ragan, Jr. Ph.D.
CC: JGR, CT, SGB, SAA, SS, EK, NMG, BMK, ACB
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Appendix A
Current Failures of the US Supreme Court to Protect American Democracy
A.1) Failure to protect voting rights:
A.1.1 — Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 594 U.S., July 1, 2021
A.1.2 — Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529, June 25, 2013
Comments: If the Court is unwilling to protect voting rights, a basic constitutional right inscribed in the Constitution, then the court has no integrity. Since the conservative wing of the Supreme Court indicated that voting rights were unimportant, the Brennan Center for Justice, as of October 4, 2021, reports more than 425 bills that would restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states — with 33 of these bills enacted across 19 states so far. This is obscene and a clear result of the Supreme Court’s` refusal to protect voting rights.
A.2) Failure to eliminate Partisan Gerrymandering
A.2.1 — Rucho et al. v. Common Cause et al, 18–422, June 27, 2019
Comments: Rather than look at the math and see the purpose of gerrymandering is to gain unfair political advantage by creating bizarrely shaped voting districts, the Court opted for the status quo that allows the political party in power to create boundaries that favor them, rather than voting districts that represent the correct proportion of voters in a state. Again, the Court failed to protect voting rights by passing the buck to Congress and maintaining the status quo that favors right-wing politics.
A.3) Failure to give each citizen an equal voice in politics — Dark Money in Politics
A.3.1 — Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm, 558 U.S. 310, January 21, 2010
Comments: Monetary contributions are not “political speech.” This highly flawed ruling gave the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington allowing unlimited election spending by corporations and labor unions fueled by Super PACs. This money cannot be tracked, so we don’t even know if this money is from within the USA or given to politicians by foreign entities. This ruling is obscene in that it allows wealthy people undue influence over American politics. The rich and corporations now have a much louder voice than the rest of the electorate combined. Once again, the Court failed to create a balanced, equitable system of political influence. Instead, the Court has allowed the richest people to politically dominate the average citizen.
A.4) Failure of the Court to regulate itself, concerning members and ethics
The FBI admitted that it failed to investigate even the most “relevant” of the 4,500 tips it received during an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Since Kavanaugh was not property vetted, why doesn’t the Court vet him independently now, or have the FBI complete their investigation now? How did his $60k-$100 credit card debt vanish? Since the FBI did not follow up on the thousands of credible tips, what about the sexual misconduct allegations? These should be fully investigated — transparently.
Comments: The above shows how the Court failed to regulate itself and its members. Furthermore, the ethics of admitting Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett onto the Court were not ethical. It is the Court’s responsibility to establish rules to ensure fair selection of its members via Congress, and acceptance of potential members by the Court.
A.5) Failure to side with the individual, highly biased towards Corporate and Conservative interests
The Court has delivered for corporate or conservative interests in 73 partisan decisions during the Roberts era, “with big Republican donor interests winning 73 out of 73 decisions.” Reference: [Slate.com, By Sheldon Whitehouse, The Supreme Court’s Anti-Worker Rulings Are So Routine Now That We Hardly Notice Them. April 26, 2019]
Comments: Again, the US Supreme Court has shown extreme bias in many cases favoring corporations and conservative interests. The Court has no credibility left. The conservative wing of the US Supreme Court must resign to restore any faith in its ability to render impartial decisions.
A.6) Failure to curb abuses of the Court’s use of the so-called Shadow Docket
The shadow docket should be only used for emergency orders and summary decisions from the Court. This procedure does not give the opportunity of oral arguments and the details of which member voted for the decision. Its misuse has become more and more egregious. The true purpose of the shadow docket is to render rapid decisions when irrevocable harm might ensue. Using the shadow docket for cases such as Texas SB8, banning abortions after 6 weeks is an abomination. There was no urgency to stop abortions in Texas, abortions are still legal in the USA after 49 years.
Comments: The Court should not reach out to decide important questions, even on an interim basis, before the lower courts have had a full opportunity to do so. Furthermore, this technique over the last decade appears unfair and arbitrary since the Court facilitates shadow docket decisions for government but fails to do so for private parties.
Overall, this conservative Court is much more interested in protecting the rich and powerful, to the detriment of “We the people.” The conservative side of the Court is not composed of unbiased jurists, but simply politicians implementing the Federalist Society’s values.
End.
