All the president has to do is assert that Supreme Court rulings about constitutionality are merely advisory and non-binding, that Marbury (1803) was wrongly decided, and that the constitutional document says absolutely nothing about the Supreme Court having this power. You don’t need a constitutional amendment. You don’t need to pass a law. And you don’t need to appoint any judges. This is a completely reasonable position that also reflects the kind of power top courts have in other countries.
- Matt Bruenig
I think it’s not that simple. In other countries, there is no written constitution or the constitution is merely aspirational, like our Declaration of Independence.
In the US, the Constitution is considered legally binding. The 13th Amendment doesn’t discourage slavery, it prohibits it. And if you think the Constitution should be legally binding, then Marbury is inescapable.
You’re missing the nuance of the cited case (Marbury v. Madison), in which the USSC effectively gave themselves the power of judicial review.
Judicial review isn’t explicitly in the constitution.
I agree that judicial review is nominally a good idea, but not under these circumstances, and not when the top of the judicial system is shamelessly and obviously biased to this degree.
Marbury decided that the Constitution takes precedence over acts of Congress. Judicial review is the logical corollary of that decision.
In other words, the only way to avoid judicial review would have been to decide that acts of Congress may override the Constitution.
…but by what authority did the SC declare in Marbury that the constitution takes precedence over acts of Congress?
I’m not just trying to be contrarian. I’m pointing out that the decision the court reached in Marbury provides the authority with which the court made their decision in Marbury. It’s a circular argument: “we have the authority to rule on this decision because we are ruling that the constitution gives us that authority”.
Vote Biden. Then vote D again in '28, '32, '36, and '40.
Flip the House. Widen the lead in the Senate.
Thomas is 75, Alito is 74, if they don’t get replaced between 24 and 28, it’s virtually assured they’ll be out between 28 and 32.
The problem then becomes the next two oldest justices, Roberts and Sotomayor, so we have to hold the Presidency through probably 2040.
It’s so fucking ridiculous that this needs to happen for America to not become a dictator/fascist country. Why the hell do we have to fight so hard to protect our nation’s well-being. How come these assholes can attack our country from within constantly for decades without anything happening to them. Ridiculous.
Because the founders assumed that our rulers would be rational actors. They didn’t have a plan for an entire party going bad. “Oh, sure, we’ll just add an impeachment clause so nobody has to get assassinated…” (paraphrasing Ben Franklin):
"The Founding Fathers wrote impeachment—originally a Roman political institution—into the constitution for the purpose of removing an official who had “rendered himself obnoxious,” in the words of Benjamin Franklin. Without impeachment, Franklin argued, citizens’ only recourse was assassination, which would leave the political official “not only deprived of his life but of the opportunity of vindicating his character.”
But they didn’t take the extra step to realize “What happens if that party refuses to impeach? Or indict? Or convict?” Suddenly there is no alternative.
Ideally, there needs to be a process to nullify the entire party, but I have no idea how you’d go about it.
The founders were entirely aware that not only an entire party, but the entire government could become irrational and work against our best interests: that’s why we have the second amendment as a backstop and last line of defense against authoritarian rule
I’ll save you a click. It’s paragraphs and paragraphs laying out the reasons someone should do something and then flight-of-fancy dreaming about impeachment, which will never happen.
So, effectively, the answer to their rhetorical question is: “nothing, but I really wanted you to click on this article.”
pack the court
subpoena them and grill them. Ask Thomas why he didn’t recuse himself from cases involving his rich billionaire buddy. THEN implement impeachment proceedings.
pack the court
Biden: Don’t you know who I am Jack? I’m the guy the elderly hired to do absolutely nothing disruptive. I’m literally status quo Joe! Enough of this change malarkey, we’re after dollars, corporate dollars!
Joe “Nothing Will Fundamentally Change” Biden.
