Kavanagh's Appointment to Supreme Court a Sad Day for Democracy

Picture: SAUL LOEB/AFP Via the Independent

Fifty-one senators representing a minority of US citizens have appointed a 53-year-old justice to the Supreme Court, where he may influence decisions for the rest of his life. With a solid conservative majority, the Supreme Court can now prevent progressive legislation from moving forward no matter what happens in the electoral bodies for the foreseeable future.

The legacy of Donald Trump is, as much as it is chaos, a legacy of moving forward the agendas of various factions who have supported his presidency. Trump is surrounded by sycophants and opportunists. He is enabled by those who claim to "curb his worst impulses" but permit the wholesale deconstruction of protections that represent the work of the last half century of public administration.

I wondered why any rational person would stand by and let this clown continue to operate.

It's exactly because he's a fool that that he attracts carpet-baggers who can spot an opportunity to personally enrich themselves or push some right-wing agenda. Thus, we get the ideologically-driven Betsy deVos or Scott Pruit busily dismantling the legacies of their departments while enriching themselves. In addition, there are the political rewards given to such incompetents as Ben Carson, and Rick Perry ("winning against climate scientists").

Kavanagh comes courtesy of the Federalist Society, a conservative group dedicated to infiltrating and placing like-minded individuals on the nation's highest courts. Just as the Koch network supports and promotes conservative candidates in elected capacities, so too the Federalist Society uses these allies to appoint judges.

Not since the dismantling of the Soviet Union have so few benefited so much from destroying the public assets of so many.

The last hope for Republicans is to rig the electoral system to disenfranchise minorities and young people. The Kavanagh appointment makes the Supreme Court clearly a political body that will prevent future legislative wins from being incorporated into law. Watch for regressive decisions on voting rights, healthcare, women's rights, and immigration. It's a sad day for democracy.