John Roberts is trying to wreck democracy -- but Trump's incompetence keeps getting in the way

[Eugene]

Source: Salon

John Roberts is trying to wreck democracy — but Trump's incompetence keeps getting in the way

Chief Justice Roberts wrote both of Thursday's opinions, which suggest the depth of his assault on democracy

SOPHIA TESFAYE
JUNE 28, 2019 11:00AM (UTC)

A pair of rulings handed down by the Supreme Court on the last day of its current session shows just how much Chief Justice John Roberts has overseen the slow destruction of the democratic process in this country over the last decade.

Since assuming the center seat on the nation’s highest court in 2005, Roberts has ruled in favor of unlimited corporate spending in political elections and against enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. This week he added allowing partisan gerrymandering to continue and at least a potential citizenship question on the census, an obvious attempt to intimidate non-citizens and immigrants out of participating.

Yes, technically Roberts joined with the court's four "liberal" justices in a complex 5-4 decision on whether the Trump administration can ask all recipients a citizenship question on the 2020 census for the first time since 1950. But his ruling isn’t anything to get excited about. Quite the contrary.

The question, which critics say would further reduce the already low Hispanic participation rate, had been blocked by numerous federal courts. The Trump administration had claimed it was necessary to better comply with federal voting rights law.

-snip-

The evidence is damning and difficult to ignore — but if the Trump administration had not blatantly lied to Roberts’ face, they probably would have gotten away with it.

“The sole stated reason" for the citizenship question, Roberts wrote in his opinion, "seems to have been contrived. We are presented, in other words, with an explanation for agency action that is incongruent with what the record reveals about the agency's priorities and decisionmaking process."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.salon.com/2019/06/28/john-roberts-is-trying-to-wreck-democracy-but-trumps-incompetence-keeps-getting-in-the-way/

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I could have told you 3 years ago, 6 years ago, 22 years ago republicans DESPISE democracy

and their supporters do as well.

[marylandblue]

2. Well, one think I can't tell you is whether their attempt will fail due to Trump's incompetence.

I think we'd be in much worse shape if Ted Cruz had won, because he is far sneakier and less crude

[unblock]

4. they despise it more and more as they become more and more of minority.

nixon cheated because he was vain and wanted to win all the electoral votes.

reagan/poppy bribed terrorists to keep americans hostage longer because they thought they might lose to carter if the hostages were released before the election.

republicans thought shrub could win the election, but they cheated when he lost to gore.

republicans didn't really try in 2008 because they knew it was so hopeless after shrub they couldn't plausibly win even if they cheated.

now they cheat because they know damn well they can't win without cheating.

it's only going to get worse as they become more and more devoted solely to a smaller and smaller sliver of the country.

[brush]

6. Their hold on the courts is the only thing keeping them in power and trump...

and McConnell continue to stock the courts with repug judges so even though trump is an idiot he still nominates whoever the Federalist Society puts in front of him so what are they complaining about?

Oh, his stupidity embarasses them while they continue to tighten their hold on the courts?

Yeah, right. They feel so bad.

Boo fucking hoo?

[unblock]

8. their hold on the media and billionaires helps, too....

[brush]

10. Yes, FOX and Sinclair's stations are repug party propaganda organs...

blasting 24/7 yet they still have to cheat to win because they actually are in the minority.

Let's see what happens in 2020 when it won't be so easy for the Russians to help trump, even though the Roberts' court just okayed repug, extreme gerrymandering.

It all gets back to their stocked courts making decisions that favor them.

[empedocles]

3. traitortrump's incompetency is awesomely unbelievable

I often argue, not the usual for and against/pro and con - but that we should be grateful for trump's unprecedented incompetence.

[madamesilverspurs]

5. Roberts is never to be trusted...

...given his advice and assistance to Jeb Bush during the 2000 post-election mess and the position with which he was handsomely rewarded. Kavanaugh was also in the middle of that pile, not to suggest any nefarious intent on his part, either...


.

[dalton99a]

7. +1

[unblock]

9. a court has to be incredibly right-wing for someone like roberts to be considered the swing vote.

i think he is more right-wing than even the most conservative justice on the warren court, and there are now four justices to the right of him!