I can’t help but get amused when the mainstream media calls the current Supreme Court “An activist court” because they followed the Constitution and the rule of law rather than the whims of crybabies raised by the nanny state who resent having the teat upon which they suckle turned off.
Then again, the British no doubt considered Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others who signed the Declaration of Independence to be “activists.” Biden and his toadies in the media need to be careful that they do not trigger a revolution of their own.
We’ve seen several court decisions over the past two months that stopped the president from over reaching, stopped executive agencies from exceeding their statutory power, and stopped state governments from telling people what they can and cannot say or think. While the Supreme Court has led the charge, district courts and appeals courts have been following their lead on important issues such as the ATF’s attempt to make pistol braces illegal and the government’s use of censorship of opposing views on social media.
Funny how the libs loved it when the courts shut down something Trump did but get outraged when the same thing happens to Biden.
First Amendment Rights
In the case of allowing a web designer to exercise her right to refuse to design websites for weddings that go against her religious beliefs, Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority, “Tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.”
That sounds reasonable to me, but it does not surprise me that CNN is upset. This is the same network where staff members freaked out when Donald Trump said whatever he wanted at a town hall they hosted. Views that disagree with theirs are unwelcome by all liberals and socialist, including those in the media.
Likewise, it is no wonder the ruling displeased President Biden. He doesn’t want people to “think and speak as they wish.” He wants them to say only things he approves of and to toe the party line. His party line. Failure to do so could get you arrested, investigated, or at the very least, blackballed and canceled. That’s un-American, yet it happens.
Checks and Balances
We’ve seen the politicization of the FBI and the IRS and the ATF make unconstitutional decisions because of what presidents want. We’ve seen him take multiple actions that are bad for the country. In our system of checks and balances, the divided Congress is largely useless and the courts are the only check left.
The only problem with having the courts act as the check is it can take years for cases to wend their way through the courts and reach the Supreme Court.
In the past, executive orders were orders to the people who worked in the Executive Branch. Somewhere long the way, they started to apply to everyone, even though the Constitution never gave the president such powers.
Obama exacerbated the executive action trend when he decided to use his “phone and his pen” to get things done instead of working with Congress. It’s taken a decade to see some brakes applied to that approach.
A Conservative Court
Whether or not you approved of Trump as president, and whether or not you want him to run again, you have to admit that his appointments to the Supreme Court and the many lower federal courts have been a difference maker. In 20 years, I predict his tweets will be forgotten and his legacy will be court cases that finally limit the Executive Branch.
Besides continuing to appoint justices who refer to the Constitution rather than popular opinion when issuing judgments, we need the next president to look at reducing the size of the government. Reagan was the last president who had any success in that area. We need a conservative with an overwhelming mandate (meaning a victory by an imposing margin), to shake all the dead wood out of the agencies, starting with the FBI, IRS, DOJ, EPA, ATF and working down the list.
When corporations make an acquisition, they use it as an opportunity to shake things up and often have people re-apply for their job. When they reorganize, they often retire people who have been in their job for a long time. We need to apply these principals to public service and get rid of the folks who are “retired in place” in administrative agencies. Let’s cull the deadwood and promote people who are getting the job done. We need government employees that follow the rules and do what is right for the country, not what is right for their pocketbook or their politics. If you want to make policy, run for office, don’t become a bureaucrat and issue policy memos obstructing things you disagree with. We need to make that a firing offense.
The Coming Collapse
As I have said before, I don’t think anything can stop the U.S. from sliding into collapse. Whether it is a financial collapse, a social collapse, a government collapse, or a collapse brought on by war remains to be seen.
However, the courts can help stem the tide and slow the rate collapse. So can a president who embraces conservative values, cuts spending, reduces the size of government, and nominates conservative, originalist justices. Eight years of this might even turn things around.
The candidate most likely to do this will get my vote in the 2024 election.
