A constitutional-political meditation on what were being put through now, particularly Justices Scalias and Thomass meditations on what church-state relations under the Constitution ought (in their views) to be: We tend to forget that Scalia, Thomas, and others on the right have been convinced all their lives that this country took a terribly wrong turn circa 1933, embracing such terribly evil things (note: sarcasm here) as activist big government, the welfare state, godlessness (what we call separation of church and state), and expansion of what Henry Adams called the political population beyond white men. In essence, their public statements of late are about reviving dead constitutional theories and making them walk again, like the Mummy in a bad old movie. They have been yearning, lusting, for a chance to reverse course since the 1930s. In 1980, they thought that Reagan would give them that chance. But Reagan was a sharper politician than he was a flash-frozen ideologue, and although he took some steps in their direction, he knew that he could not -- and would not -- go as far as they wanted him to go. After that disappointment, and then the disappointment of George H. W. Bush (except for the appointment of Justice Thomas), they then growled in rage against Bill Clinton, did what they could to erode him, took the House for what turned out to be a dozen years (and the Senate for a little less time) but by only enough to cause trouble, put us through a pointless impeachment, and rewrite the House and Senate rules to empower their majority and defang the Democratic minority. Then, with Bush II, their hopes rose again, and they started to push hafder and harder for their agenda, with a desperation suggesting that they knew they had only so much time to pull it off. Then, with Obamas election, for two years they raved and ranted and did their best to block Obamas progressive agenda while practicing, wherever and whenever they could, the politics of NO. Then in 2010, they took back the House and got a real chance to try to practice the politics of NO, hoping to unhorse Obama in 2012. But the ghastly idiocy of their candidate pool, and of the guy who won, cost them the chance to ram the countrys helm in the other direction. Now, theyre desperately confused and uncertain about 2014 and 2016, hoping to triumph but remembering their tendency to blow their chance for a triumph. For their parts, Scalia and Thomas are beating the jurisprudential drums for the faithful, hoping to spur things their way. And that is the explanation for what were going through now.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:20:56 +0000
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