Joe Biden worries that the “extreme” US supreme court, dominated by rightwing justices, cannot be relied upon to uphold the rule of law.

“I worry,” the president told ProPublica in interview published on Sunday. “Because I know that if the other team, the Maga Republicans, win, they don’t want to uphold the rule of law.”

“Maga” is shorthand for “Make America great again”, Donald Trump’s campaign slogan. Trump faces 91 criminal charges and assorted civil threats but nonetheless dominates Republican polling for the nomination to face Biden in a presidential rematch next year.

In four years in the White House, Trump nominated and saw installed three conservative justices, tilting the court 6-3 to the right. That court has delivered significant victories for conservatives, including the removal of the right to abortion and major rulings on gun control, affirmative action and other issues.

The new court term, which starts on Tuesday, could see further such rulings on matters including government environmental and financial regulation.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Yes but you fail to consider that some guys wrote on a paper like 250 years ago and we’ve decided that everything needs to be viewed through the lens of either “does this agree with an incredibly pedantic and stilted reading of this document” or “what would those historical dudes think about this” - whichever happens to be more politically expedient for you at the moment, but the second one tends to give you more flexibility.

    • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      everything needs to be viewed through the lens of either “does this agree with an incredibly pedantic and stilted reading of this document” or “what would those historical dudes think about this”

      To be fair, they did expect us to modify the constitution from generation to generation.

      Ultimately the failure is ours.

    • PreviouslyAmused@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      One of the more interesting things I saw (on this topic) was a historian stating that George Washington (and his contemporaries) would have been able to relate the world of Julius Cesar more than they would our modern world.

      I think about that A LOT whenever I hear some idiot spout nonsense about the “vision and ideals” of the founding fathers

    • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yup, I see. A bit like with the Bible and other holy books then. Even here in Europe, there are many who see the wording of those as the ultimate truth. No need to adjust anything, they say. It’s all good. It’s god’s will or whatever - if it helps their agenda, that is. Jesus, that must be frustrating.

      • millie@lemmy.film
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        1 year ago

        Europe at least has had the benefit of being able to work country-by-country, whereas the US is one massive tangled morass. Hell, even achieving the kind of restructuring and harmonious cooperation that you see in the EU had to come as a result of two of the most atrocious wars humanity has ever mustered in the span of less than half a century.

        Kinda puts it a little more into perspective when you consider the absolute shit-show Europe had to turn into before it was ready to grow up.

        • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Yes, absolutely right. However, it is very sad that the Europeans in particular do not seem to have learned much from their history. I am German and here, unfortunately, a blatantly fascist party is on the rise again. That political direction is unfortunately quite popular in many European countries as of late. It might be similar to what is happening in America: the standard of living is falling and so people seem to be longing for a strong leader who will supposedly improve their living situation. The fact that this strong leader has completely different interests is apparently of no concern to many. They simply vote for the party whose rhetoric appeals to them (foreigners are to blame and so on), and that promises a way back to the good old days. It is enough to make you cry.

          • Twista713@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Sorry to hear that, man. It’s definitely a sad situation all around. The apathy of so many is hard to overcome, then there are those like you mentioned who cling to cults of personality or are just looking for a savior. Democracy is still hanging on, but it’s in a rough spot.

    • Clent@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Not anymore. They are just making shit up now. The check is congress impeaching them. That will not happen if enough people demand it.

      It’ll never happen as long as republicans control either half of congress. People have been sounding the alarm on their power grabs for decades and only now are some people starting to listen.

      I expect the American experiment to fail in my lifetime.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        I’m not sure that I see the American Collapse happening in my lifetime as a certainty, but I would agree that it’s a very strong possibility if we don’t get our shit together pretty fucking quick.

        • Clent@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It’s won’t collapse. We’ll become another authoritarian state.

          It’ll be isolationist so only Mexico should be worried.

          • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Yeah if we go that route, I absolutely expect some Christian Nationalist administration to decide that it’s time to take over Mexico, which to be clear is an apocalyptically stupid idea.

            • TechyDad@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Some of the MAGA folks are already saying that we should bomb/invade Mexico to stop the drug cartels and immigrants. Of course, they hand-wave how horrible a war would be. They assume that Mexico would thank the US for such a great bombing and ask for more. Because MAGA.

              • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                For anyone who was downvoting the above comment: It’s absolutely a real thing that Republicans have been talking about for a while now.

                This should concern you. Only a complete imbecile would think that conducting unilateral military action against Mexico is a good idea. We would rightly be cast in the same light as Russia vis a vis Ukraine. We would destroy any remaining semblance of geopolitical soft power we still have. We would be unambiguously turning away from even trying to be the “good guys”. We would be global pariahs, just like Russia is now, and we would deserve it.

            • phx@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Why the fuck would they want Mexico? I think Canada probably has more to worry about, especially as water becomes more scarce