The Left Trying To End The Separation Of Powers (Op-Ed By William Haupt III)
“Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” – William Howard Taft
Image Credit: Wally Gobtez / CC
By William Haupt III [Tennessee Watchdog Journalist, Columnist, Author, and Citizen Legislator via The Center Square] –
The idea of packing the court has resurfaced with new popularity from progressives even though it is taboo with most Americans. So don’t count it out. If progressives can’t win in Congress, they ask the court to do it for them. Their goal is to control the court so that every decision is in their favor.
“I consider what the Supreme Court does regarding abortion is totally irrelevant.” – Nancy Pelosi
Article III of the Constitution lays out structure of the Supreme Court and what cases the court can decide. The Constitution also separates the court’s jurisdiction into two categories. For some rare cases that are highly sensitive such as cases involving U.S. diplomats or disputes among states, the parties involved can take the dispute directly to the Supreme Court, skipping all lower courts.
When the court heard Roe V. Wade in 1973, a case involving a state law that was not under their jurisdiction, because the 10th Amendment gave the states control of their own healthcare laws they over-ruled a state law and that was unconstitutional. Abortionists went on a rampage! But in 2022 when the Court struck Row down citing it was a state issue, the left attacked the Court Justices.
When it leaked out that the court was considering overturning Roe V. Wade, the left picketed the court, demonstrated in front of the justices homes and bullied them in public places. Protesters on the left violated numerous federal laws outlawing the intimidation of judges to try to influence court decisions.
“The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution.” – Brett Kavanaugh
From the New Deal to the Reagan era, progressives regarded the Supreme Court, the third branch of government, as their tool to make unconstitutional laws constitutional. The left had so much control of the court for years it lacked judicial independence and empowered their party.
During this era, the court’s liberal majority ruled towards the expansion of federal government power and the passage of nationwide social legislation such as in Roe v. Wade. The legitimacy of the court was not questioned because the court ruled mostly in favor of the left. For the most part, there was little opposition to their opinions since they had substantial majorities on the bench.
In 1981, when Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor, she was considered a swing vote for the Rehnquist court. That’s when the left realized their all-important preeminence on the court was in danger and their attitude toward the court began to shift and they will fight every decision.Â
In 1987 during the Robert Bork confirmation hearings, Ted Kennedy demagogued one of America’s most conscientious legal scholars into a demon for no other reason than his views on abortion. Ted Kennedy succeeded in stopping Bork’s nomination, who was replaced with Anthony Kennedy. And cKennedy immediately joined the dubious Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision reaffirming Roe.
This continues to the present day. Democratic Supreme Court nominees sail through confirmation with minimum political theatrics; Republican nominees receive invasive exams from the media and are accused of everything from felonious sexual harassment (Clarence Thomas) to aggravated gang rape and sexual assault (Bret Kavanaugh) to Cultish Vatican Catholicism (Amy Barrett).
Every ruling by this court is now questioned by the left, which is now on a smear campaign against the integrity of the originalist wing of the court. A rash of stories are suddenly appearing in liberal media rollout suggesting financial compromise or corruption of Justices Gorsuch, Roberts, and Thomas. These are outright farcical claims to convince low-information voters the court is corrupt.
“Americans may be poor under the Biden administration, but they are not stupid.” – John Kennedy
When word leaked the court was considering ruling for Dobbs over Wade, Sen. Chuck Schumer said,” I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with this awful decision.”Â
Joe Biden and his progressive comrades have embarked on a bus tour to sell voters on their plan to remake the court into a progressive arm of government. They demand the authority to write new rules for the nation’s highest court. Leftist Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “The last thing I would want to do is mess with the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court is messing with our democracy.”
She is joined by Caroline Fredrickson of Biden’s Supreme Court reform commission, and anti-gun advocate David Hogg, GLAD director Janson Wu, and staunch abortion advocate Alencia Johnson.
“We need the authority to add and remove justices on the court if we need to.” – Ed Markey D-MA
Margaret Mead wrote, “Respect the office even if you don’t respect the man.” This is the first time in our history that an entire political party has publicly scorned and attacked every judge on the Supreme Court who doesn’t legislate from the bench. It’s also the first time a party wanted people to break the law by picketing and protesting in front of the homes of the justices to try and influence a court decision. This is a felony; yet none have been arrested. Next to Dread-Scott, Justice Robert’s ruling on Obamacare was the worst is history! Yet nobody threatened to kill him?Â
The separation of powers means that no branch of government can dictate how another must self govern. Our founders did this to protect the people from tyranny and abuse. They insulated the federal judiciary from political control to ensure justices would decide cases impartially without fear of retaliation. But today, many leftists have traded our constitution for a copy of Lenin’s playbook.
Even if they regain control of Congress and the White House, the progressives see the Supreme Court as the last remaining obstacle to completing an unchecked wish list of far left policy dreams. As a result, they are seeding the ground for the destruction of the independent American judiciary.
No matter what progressives do or say, or how much they dislike some SCOTUS justices, they must be reminded; “The Supreme Court interprets the law, it does not make the law.” – Mike Parson
About the Author: William Haupt III is a retired professional journalist, author, and citizen legislator in California for over 40 years. He got his start working to approve California Proposition 13. His work also appears in The Center Square, The Western Journal, Neighbor Newspapers, KPXJ 21 (Shreveport, LA), Killeen Daily Herald, Aberdeen American News, InsideNova, Kankakee Daily Journal, Monterey County Weekly, Olean Times Herald, The Greeneville Sun and more. Follow William on Twitter @iii_haupt.
