Citizens United: Fallows doesn’t even lay out a case against Citizens United. He merely lists the decision as part of the coup and then decries a separate ruling last week that forced union members to “opt in” to political donations. Unions are, of course, the only political entities that have largely non-voluntary contribution bases. In any case, it’s likely that neither party will enjoy a significant financial advantage in the 2012 cycle, so it’s unclear how these decisions are contributing to a “coup.” Likewise, Fallows never explains his opposition to Florida’s election reforms.
Obamacare: Fallows suggests that the majority of the Supreme Court was “prepared to negate” Obamacare as soon as it was passed. Of course, the most often discussed “wild cards” on the court are Anthony Kennedy and John Roberts — a Reagan appointee and a George W. Bush appointee, respectively. According to Fallows, any ruling against Obamacare is insidious because Obamacare is a Republican idea that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee once supported. Of course, this isn’t true, but even if it were, wouldn’t the divide between Republicans and “conservative” justices suggest the absence of a political conspiracy?
Fallows’ article is part of a strategy to delegitimize the Supreme Court ahead of this week’s Obamacare ruling and turn public ire away from the Democrats’ unpopular health care reforms and toward what the president describes as an “unelected group of people.” Ironically, this coordinated attack on the judicial branch is a bigger threat to the legitimacy of our government than any of the events that Fallows mentions.
Rory Cooper is the director of communications for The Heritage Foundation. You can follow him on Twitter @rorycooper.
