The Real Enemy of the People

More and more our country suffers mass shootings. Think about the term itself – “mass” shootings. There have been more than 600 this year. Why? 

We constantly complain about our elected representatives and yet we re-elect about ninety percent. 

There are, of course, a variety of reasons for these two destructive social conditions but there is one thread that can be traced through both of them. They are all caused, at least in part, by the real enemies of the people – the United States Supreme Court.

Mass shootings? See the Court’s decisions on Second Amendment rights. Re-election of incumbents? See the Court’s decisions on gerrymandering and money in politics. 

How can it be argued that the number of mass shootings would not be reduced if the Supreme Court interpreted the Second Amendment as allowing stricter gun controls? Of course, stricter controls would not eliminate this horror. There would still be plenty of crazies and there would still be some access to guns, but stricter controls would surely help to minimize the number of mornings that we wake up to hear about another bunch of innocent lives senselessly taken. 

But nooooooo. The Supremes won’t let that happen. They are the ones who read the words “A well regulated militia” as including all of us. I don’t know about you, but somehow they missed me when they passed out those uniforms. So next time you hear about a mass shooting, and  sadly it will likely be soon, look to that building at One First Street, N.W. in D.C. and realize that those within it are largely to blame.

Then there is the consistent re-election of the people who have a 21% approval rating. In this past election, including incumbents who lost their primaries, only 25 incumbents were not re-elected. That means that 94% of the incumbents were. This is partly, if not mainly, the result of both gerrymandering and money. The gerrymandering draws one-party districts that give the voters no choice but to choose the candidate put up by that party. And combine that with the need for all the money it takes to be a candidate in the first place, the voters are only presented with the single-party favorites. 

It is the Supreme Court that has created this mess. It’s role in perpetuating this legalized bribery is obvious. The Citizens United case unleashed the avalanche of bucks that flood the process and reinforced the power of the wealthy few. Oh, how democratic are those robed robbers.

Gerrymandering? Well, in 2019, the Court gave that process a full pass. It announced that it will not intervene in partisan gerrymandering challenges. Those, it said, are political issues that are not appropriate for judicial determination. Can you imagine? No political considerations for these Judges. As Justice Kagan said in dissent, “For the first time ever this Court refuses to remedy a constitutional violation because it thinks the task beyond judicial capabilities, and not just any constitutional violation, the partisan gerrymanders in these cases deprived citizens of the most fundamental of their constitutional rights . . .” Justice Kagan and her liberal minority pals are trying to do the best they can, but they are really up against it.

And there are similar travesties. This Court has undermined the Voting Rights Act. It is in the process of completely eliminating affirmative action. And don’t get me started on abortion.

There are a lot of things in this country that we are right to be afraid of. Among them are the growing economic and political divisions between us and that there are politicians who govern us who are demonstrably incapable of dealing with any of it.

But of all these fears, the composition of the majority of the Supreme Court may well be at the top of the list.