Thom Hartmann, an Obamabat who believes that his guy is just in learning mode, has been making a good point lately that bears repeating: There is nothing in the constitution about judicial review. That power was usurped by the court for itself in Marbury v Madison. The essence of that decision is that we live under a ruling body that is not accountable to the electorate. We can only remove Supreme Court justices by impeachment, or they have to die. John Roberts and Sam Alito* appear to have perjured themselves in their confirmation hearings, and there is nothing to be done about it.
The essential problem is not the appointment of good judges, but the lack of accountability of those we appoint. It’s always a crap shoot. We are not a democratic republic, but rather, a fake democracy. Behind the scenes lurks the oligarchy, and right before our eyes a council of nine that rules by decree.
All that aside, is our only chance at improvement of our lot to elect Democrats and hope that they appoint kinder masters? Is that our lot?
Yes. That is our lot. Excuse me if I elect not to participate in this foolery.
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We had opportunity to visit with Ladybug on our recent trip, and I never leave an encounter with him without marveling at his insight. He cuts to the quick. We had a delightful visit, toured his property with all of its original artwork and rustic charm. I took away a lot from that encounter, but these points stand out:
Journalists are trained by use of what he called “shock collars,” and so know exactly how far they can go before they will endure pain. In all of my thousands of words about that profession over the years, LB’s one thought sums it all up.
The other point – why do Democrats behave as they do, reflexively staying within the fold even as they are time and again betrayed? Fear. Simple fear. The party offers them a safe playground. Outside is scary.
Thanks LB
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*It should be noted here that the Democrats had it within their grasp to block Alito’s nomination, and backed down.
Piece of Mindful 
You are an interesting sort, Mark. Are you really attacking the institution that brought us desegregation and abortion rights? Judicial review is based on a very simple premise – the constitution is the highest law of the land, and so as judges are supposed to enforce the highest laws over ones passed by inferior bodies, they can overrule those laws which are not in accordance with the constitution.
But sure, you work on overthrowing the SCOTUS, and I’ll vote for Democrats, and we’ll see who gets better results. You forget, or conveniently ignore, the most important implication of Democratic habits in appointing justices – it indicates a real difference between the parties. You can predict how the currently sitting justices will vote on any given issue with a fair degree of accuracy merely by knowing who appointed them, demonstrating dramatically the differences between the two parties. Citizens United was brought about, sure, by Supreme Court Justices, but it was also brought about by the millions who voted for Bush, and it was brought about by thousands of people like you, living in Florida, not voting for Gore and handing Bush the election. Man, you third party types sure showed the Democrats there, I’m sure they will all be much more to your liking now that candidates can receive anonymous corporate donations.
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That’s just nuts, the Gore thing, almost right wingy in that you offer up as justification for your attitudes the idea that the man you supported, who would be subjected to the same pressures that guided Bush, would have behaved differently. He didn’t even campaign differently than Bush! They agreed on almost every issue of importance.
I mean, look at Obama – at least he campaigned like a somewhat meaningful alternative to Bushism, and then took office and carried forward with the “Bush” agenda. With that as my prima facie evidence, I maintain that Gore would have given us the Bush agenda as well. At least I have some evidence. You have none.
But we don’t know, do we.
I would support judicial review if horrendous decisions like Citizens could be overturned with relative ease, and the members of the court turned over on a regular basis. As it is, they are a ruling junta. Politics might play into replacement of sitting justices, and that would be a good thing.
And agian, the Democrats had it in their power to stop Alito, probalby Roberts too, and did not. And if those two perjured themselves in confirmation, so what. We have no meaningful recourse.
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Polish Wolf,
“Third party types” generally don’t vote for Democrats or Republicans. That is the point. Is a non-alligned, free voter really a “type?” When no third-party candidate is on the ballot it seems more likely that the vote is not cast. This is a very hard concept for some to grasp. Default to either of the name-brand options presumes automatic capitulation — standard operating procedure for all too many Democrats.
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Well Mark, we don’t know who Gore would have chosen, that’s true. But here’s the thing – on most of the decisions you hate the most, there are two sides, and justices on both sides. Not one justice who voted in favor of Citizen’s United was appointed by a Democrat. Thus, the idea that Gore would have appointed two justices who voted with justices appointed by Reagan and Bush, rather than justices appointed Carter and Clinton, is absolutely absurd and kills your entire contention that Presidential election aren’t important. George Bush holding office created a situation wherein Citizens United was possible – thus, the election of 2000, far from being ‘Kabuki theater’, was instrumental in increasing the power of the wealthy in the United States.
And ladybug – I’m not sure you’re really paying attention to the debate at all. People who voted for Nader or stayed home that day allowed Bush to be elected.
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This requires a somewhat angry response, which will occur above in the form of a post with odd pictures selected at random that seem appropriate at the time and later make little sense.
More to follow. Right now HP in India has me on hold.
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