INJUSTICE IN TEXAS, REAGAN’S GHOST, DURBIN’S DILEMMA

Last week, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas further emphasized that laws are enacted to regulate the actions of progressives and not conservatives when he pardoned a convicted murderer, who had killed a Black Lives Matter protester, making a mockery of the justice system. The governor invalidated the decision of the dozen jurors who spent time away from family and jobs, to hear the forty witnesses in reviewing sufficient evidence to convict Daniel Perry of his crime; but, because Abbott was not supportive of the BLM protest, and because he had a grievance against the DA who prosecuted the case after a grand jury investigation found ample evidence for a trial, he ignored the systems available to address any wrongful conviction. Indeed, if Daniel Perry felt the jury was in error, he could have appealed on his own. This should be viewed as a consequential decision no matter where one’s political affiliation lies, but to date Abbott has offered no reasonable explanation for his repugnant action, obviously taking as his example that of former President Trump who pardoned a batch of criminals as his term expired. Many Texans take advantage of the state’s open carry law, which loosely supports a ‘stand your ground’ aspect, with being in control its only political philosophy or motivation. The Austin American-Statesman editorialized that Greg Abbott should have a face-to-face with the jurors to explain his decision and that he should be willing to listen to them regarding their conclusion…fat chance!

Thom Hartmann in The New Republic writes that a theory from the slaveholding South “explains a whole spectrum of Republican behavior that otherwise seems baffling and self-defeating.” The 1858 “mud-sill theory of labor” by South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond, asserts that for a society to function smoothly, it must have a “foundational” class of people who equate to a mud-sill that stabilizes a house upon its foundation, to perform manual labor which produces most of the wealth – a menial class, locked into that strata, that benefits an upper class. With no upward mobility, this group justifies for Hammond, the quote by Jesus in the Bible, “The poor you will always have with you.” Right-wing billionaires have urged states to ghettoize red state public schools by subsidizing middle- and upper-class children’s schooling, with poorer students flailing in sub-standard, underfunded facilities. Further, GOP states make it difficult for unionization by labor, a sure-fire deterrent to upward mobility, with its “right to work for less” outlook. Hartmann believes we can blame the Reagan revolution for the change since the 1950-1980 decades when the USA led the world in social mobility, ending when Reagan killed the union movement and defunded public education, bolstering the “mud-sill theory.”

President Lincoln was resentful of Hammond’s theory, as his goal was to promote social mobility, and he signed legislation creating over 70 land-grant colleges where tuition was free or quite affordable…until Reagan came along. Hartmann mentions a 1951 book, ‘The Conservative Mind’ by Russell Kirk, which is held in high regard by today’s GOP, for advocating societal “classes and orders” to ensure stability. Kirk’s argument was that if the American middle class grew too large and was well paid, this access to “wealth” would result in social disaster, with minorities forgetting their “place,” with women demanding sexual equality, and youth losing respect for their elders. He foresaw social chaos, moral degeneracy, revolution and collapse of the American social order. With eccentrics such as Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley, Jr. quoting Kirk’s theory, the GOP leaders later pronounced ‘The Conservative Mind’ prophetic as the Civil Rights Movement took hold, women were making new demands, with draft cards and bras being burned. Ronald Reagan to the rescue in complete repudiation of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president! Now we have former president Trump, Justices Alito and Thomas, House Speaker Johnson, Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ron DeSantis, and their retinues nearing the finish line at fulfilling the mud-sill vision of Russell Kirk and Ronald Reagan.

Justice Samuel Alito is still catching flak for the revelation that he flew the upside-down American flag at his home following the insurrection at the US Capitol, for which he blamed his wife, Martha-Ann. The story is that she flew the flag in response to a neighbor’s anti-Trump yard signs, a statement that might be true according to a Washington Post reporter who discussed it with her at the time, later discounting it as a non-story. Justice Alito didn’t disavow or reject the message of the “stop-the-steal” symbolization, hoping the brouhaha would simply die, but his wife’s expressed concern that children would read the degrading and profane language on the neighbor’s signs as they walked, or were bused, to school doesn’t hold water. This was during the COVID pandemic…Alexandria, VA schools were closed at the time. So now, The New York Times just released photos of yet another flag being flown at the Alito’s New Jersey beach house…the “Appeal to Heaven” flag prominent at the January 6 event, which is rooted in John Locke’s “appeal to heaven,” implying “a responsibility to rebel, even use violence, to overthrow unjust rule,” now embraced by Christian Nationalists. Coincidence? Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin doesn’t think so, saying, “This is not a chance discretion. This is a conscious decision by the Alito family to advertise their political feelings. That doesn’t help the Supreme Court one whit, and he ought to accept the responsibility of recusing himself from cases involving the Trump administration.” Senator Brian Schatz said he was disturbed by the sense that Alito, or someone close to him, appeared to be advocating for more “religiosity” in government by flying this flag which dates back to the Revolutionary War.

Jennifer Rubin writes in The Washington Post that Senator Durbin had responded that he hasn’t “anything planned” in response to the Alito’s upside-down flag, aside from issuing “a terse Tweet or letter,” prompting Rubin to ask, “What more does Alito have to do before Durbin gets serious?” Rubin termed as weak-kneed Durbin’s excuse that if Alito doesn’t recuse from Trump decisions, “the recourse is impeachment, and we’re not at that point at all.” With discovery of the second, ‘Appeal to Heaven’ banner, Durbin “got huffy on social media,” saying, “This incident is yet another example of apparent ethical misconduct by a sitting justice, and it adds to the Court’s ongoing ethical crisis. Justice Alito must recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection.” Durbin’s hollow words prompted constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe to declare the issue as no longer “just about the insurrection-abetting Sam Alito, but about the AWOL Senator Durbin. He has no excuse for not holding hearings about Alito now.” Sam can’t point a finger at his wife or another unmannerly neighbor for the second flag; neither can he continue to insist on the veracity of the first flag excuse. His favoring an undemocratic, White Christian group which repudiates separation of church and state, which views the country as being under siege from secularism cannot stand.

It likely wasn’t Senator Durbin’s intent, but his one statement points to his dereliction in his chairmanship: “The Senate Judiciary Committee has been investigating the ethical crisis at the Court for more than a year, and that investigation continues. And we remain focused on ensuring the Supreme Court adopts an enforceable code of conduct, which we can do by passing the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.” Jennifer Rubin is indignant, writing, “More than a year? At least we know he has remained “focused” on ethics reform.” She thinks Alito’s misconduct also brings Chief Justice John Roberts to a crossroads…if he does nothing, Roberts is complicit in the destruction of the Court’s reputation. “Such spinelessness might even snatch from Roger B. Taney, the author of the majority opinion in ‘Dred Scott,’ the title of ‘worst chief justice ever,'” she maintains. Both Durbin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have sent a letter to the chief justice, requesting a meeting as soon as possible, though Roberts will likely make himself unavailable…spurring Durbin to honor his oath of office to protect the Constitution? Rubin says Democrats must be prepared to offer solutions toward rehabilitating the Court to rid it of the stench of scandal and insulate it from MAGA extremists.

The flag stories will pitch further scrutiny toward the High Court when it is already facing considerable blowback, particularly with Justice Thomas and honorary justice, conservative-activist-wife, Ginni Thomas, who attended the Trump rally preceding the J6 Capitol attack, and who exerted tremendous effort in the months after to discredit the election results. Clarence Thomas just recently at a conference in Alabama accused his critics of “nastiness and lies,” for not having recused himself in Trump-related court cases. Democrats say Alito and Thomas have cast aside decorum and judicial ethics, letting their personal views and friendships reign over any sense of obligation to avoid the appearance of bias or political favor. Dick Durbin is pushing for a vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, requiring Justices to adopt a binding code and setting up a mechanism for investigating alleged violations of that code or other laws. Both Thomas and Alito should not be able to rule on the Trump cases before them, and those that will surely arise, but they won’t! So, peel them a grape, fetch their slippers and put another log on the campfire…and then prep the bedding in the RV!

Ian Millhiser on Vox, writes, “Samuel Alito is one of the worst judges of his generation. He rejects the very basic idea that courts must decide cases based on the law, and not based on their partisan views. He routinely embarrasses himself in oral arguments, and in his published opinions, with legal reasoning that no sensible lawyer can take seriously. And he even tries to distort public debate and silence critics. But most of all, Alito is one of the most uninteresting thinkers in the country. Here he is, in one of the most powerful and intellectually rigorous jobs on the planet – a philosopher king, presiding over the mightiest nation that has ever existed – and his only big idea is ‘Republicans should win.'” He goes on to say, “Alito – a judge with no theory of the Constitution, and no insight into how judges should read ambiguous laws, beyond his own driving belief that his team should always win – is the perfect fit, in other words, for what the Republican Party has become in the age of Trump. Alito lashes out at his colleagues when they accuse white lawmakers of racism. Indeed, one of the unifying themes in Alito’s race cases us his desire to write a presumption of white racial innocence into the law – and especially into American voting law.”

Last week Donald Trump was greeted with boos repeatedly at the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, a switch from his usual raucous rally receptions. Taking the stage to boos and jeers from the majority, a smaller contingent clad in their MAGA hats and t-shirts attempted to cheer him on with chants of “USA, USA,” and “We want Trump.” Shortly before his appearance, one Party member yelled, “Donald Trump should have taken a bullet,” an apparent reference to the MAGA lie being bandied about, that the FBI during their ‘raid’ and search of Mar-a-Lago for purloined classified documents was authorized to assassinate him…of course, the ‘visit’ was planned with knowledge that he would not be on the premises. A request for a comment on the hostile reception to which the former president was subjected was met with silence by his campaign as they searched the video for clips that show their candidate in a good light. Trump’s appeal to the gathered conventioneers was, “We should not be fighting each other, but work toward defeating Biden,” which was met by more jeering. A mix of applause and jeers was heard when he said, “The Libertarian Party can make a big difference. If we unite we will be unstoppable.” Trump tried to poke fun by claiming that if they chose not to back him, they would continue to get their 3% of voter support in the upcoming election. His pledge to appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet if he wins was countered with cries of “b.s.” from a large segment of the disbelieving crowd. One attendee holding a sign that demanded “No Wannabe Dictators” was disappeared by security, and after Trump called President Biden a “tyrant” and the “worst president in the history of the US,” many screamed back at him, “That’s you!” So, in the end Trump’s handlers couldn’t find ten seconds of his Libertarian debut video where he was speaking coherently or not being jeered, resulting in posting of right-wing articles proclaiming his success, where thousands upon thousands of participants had his back. “Who does not know the truth, is simply a fool…yet who knows the truth and calls it a lie, is a criminal.” – Bertolt Brecht.

But, Rudy Giuliani is still searching for just a bit of success himself, having declared bankruptcy to escape his mountain of debt. His unwitting disclosure of his whereabouts, after thumbing his nose at authorities for weeks, allowed the servers of his Arizona indictment to pounce on him at his 80th birthday party. This ranks high on Rudy’s résumé…almost matching the infamous news conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping…you remember, the one next to the adult sex toys store, across from the crematorium? Jill Twiss of The Daily Beast reports that during a Zoom meeting last week, Rudy had to use the bathroom, forgetting to turn off his Zoom microphone while standing at the urinal…an added contribution to the streaming event, so to speak. Jill gives Rudy a bit of leeway by saying we’ve all done it, or will do it…totally normal. “Just being Rudy Giuliani for the past 80 or so years? Pretty embarrassing,” she hastens to add.