In a matter of days, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, bolstered First Amendment rights to resist LGBTQ orthodoxy, and denied President Biden’s Constitutional authority to cancel student loan debt with a mere stroke of a pen. Liberals, for all their talk about the sanctity of norms — the standards, processes, and values we all adhere to and unite around, have shown nothing but disdain for one of America’s key republican institutions.
Civility and institutions are very important when Donald Trump hurls churlish nicknames at his opponents, but it’s totally irrelevant when Democrats spew baseless accusations of “white supremacy” at their Republican colleagues. The latter differs because it helps cudgel the public into supporting a radical racial equity platform that would otherwise enjoy very little support. Norms are useful only to the extent that they can be weaponized to enact or insulate policy preferences. (RELATED: ‘Not A Normal Court’: Biden Undermines Legitimacy Of SCOTUS)
Look at the left’s attempts to undermine the Court’s legitimacy and decisions since a solid conservative majority took over the bench. (RELATED: Supreme Court Clears Way For Transgender Inmate’s Lawsuit To Continue Against Men’s Prison)
First, they viciously went after Brett Kavanaugh, combing through his personal life in minute detail and absurdly accused him of gang rape. The corporate press trotted out an army of so-called experts to say his confirmation would “harm the actual credibility, legitimacy and authority of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Another targeted his personal integrity, saying “Every single case that he is on, people will say, ‘Hmm, I wonder what Kavanaugh decided for this?'”
Next, they went after Amy Coney Barrett with another round of hit pieces. Since Republicans rushed to nominate her, experts feared, “the court’s very composition will be seen as a product of the most brazen kind of politics” and “its decisions will be seen that way too.” They attacked her Catholic faith, implying she was a religious bigot and unable to fulfill her duties with secular objectivity.
In which Chuck Schumer threatens TWO sitting Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. pic.twitter.com/pA3mryeVK2
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 4, 2020
Then there are ProPublica’s recent attacks against Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, which attempt to make highly scandalous corruption allegations out of fairly run-of-the-mill perks. They focus on these incidents while ignoring potential conflicts of interest involving Sonya Sotomayor.
The implication is that any ruling under these justices would be tainted. By extension, they also are meant to pressure the justices into ruling against their own consciences and reason. In other words, “Do what we want, and we’ll leave you alone.” So much for respecting the rule of law and judicial independence.
With the foundation of illegitimacy set, Democrats openly make threats to stack the court. In an epic act of gaslighting, they accused conservatives of stacking the courts as a pretext to consider expanding the Supreme Court to artificially neutralize the 6-3 conservative majority. With 13 justices, Democrats could ensure progressive hegemony.
FDR was the last president who attempted to pack the Court, but his proposal was resoundingly struck down 70-20 in the Senate. While the Constitution doesn’t stipulate the number of justices on the bench, nine has long been a settled norm. (RELATED: Supreme Court To Hear Pivotal Gun Rights Case)
When this all failed, the left ramped up its intimidation tactics. The infamous leaker of the Dobbs decision still hasn’t been identified. Yet the intention was clear — preemptively tell the public that the Court planned to reverse the Roe v Wade, and stoke protests, chaos and perhaps even violence. Amid the unrest, the left hoped the Court would reverse its decision for the stability of the country.
The leak was “unprecedented” in American history, but that mattered little when the left’s holy sacrament of abortion was at stake. In fact, the corporate press jumped through hoops to defend it.
The protest in front of Supreme Court Justice Alito’s house.
These people are lost. They need Jesus.
They say, “When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/wRERvx1SuH
— Terri Green (@TerriGreenUSA) May 14, 2022
At the grassroots level, the protests were designed to intimidate justices. It is now fairly common for angry left-wingers to congregate in front of justices’ homes. Despite being illegal, little has been done to stop them as the corporate media emphasized their “peaceful” nature. Yet the lack of violence is beside the point; they still serve the same purpose as the original leak. Their frequency now suggests they are the new norm.
The left will no doubt ratchet up its actions and rhetoric, but for now, the rulings are a victory for both timeless conservative principles and sound jurisprudence. Perhaps more importantly, it is a ringing rebuke to the left’s willingness to shred any norm that gets in the way of its agenda.