2y ago

Supreme Court Rejects Right-Wing ‘Theory’ That Would Have Upended American Elections

talkingpointsmemo.com Supreme Court Rejects Right-Wing ‘Theory’ That Would Have Upended American Elections

The Supreme Court rejected the independent state legislature theory in a bombshell...

The Supreme Court rejected the independent state legislature theory in a bombshell decision Tuesday, turning back a right-wing attempt to vest the sole power in administering federal elections with state legislatures.

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After Dobbs I legit expected SCOTUS to go full speed ahead turning America into a Christofascist autocracy, but it seems like they're content to just uphold the status quo outside of that one specific issue. Maybe my standards are dangerously low but it's nice to know we're not on the actual worst timeline right now.
- As I said in another post, I believe Justice Roberts is trying to haul the reins back from the stampeding conservafascists. Not that his own tendencies don't lie that way, but he's widely reported as caring about his legacy, and right now the reputation of SCOTUS for corruption and poor decisions seems to me to be at an all time high. (That is to say, I'm not a deep SCOTUS scholar, just an observer -- there might be a time when the organization was worse.)
  
  This seems to part of it. Another part is a large portion of their power comes from the reputation of abject impartiality... and the dobs ruling definitely calls that into question.
  
  I daresay the Supreme Court that made the Dred Scott decision was a bit worse but what we have now is pretty fucking sour.
- I agree that Roberts might be worried about reputation, but I am worried they are just holding back for the next election. I think he realizes Dobbs hurt them last time around and are keeping their powder dry to try and help Republicans. If an R wins in 24 it will be pedal to the metal for christian nationalists.
- yeah I was honestly terrified that starting 2024 we were just fucking doomed, but now it seems like things are finally looking up. DeSantis' approval rating is in the shitter, and a lot of the anti-trans bills are being blocked throughout the country.
  
  DeSantis could come back if something happens to Trump. I can't believe I hope Trump doesn't succumb to all the hamburgers he consumes for a bit longer.
  
  More than one issue matters.
- It was probably a pretty devious and purposeful move. Boil the frog slowly.
- What you call "Christofascism" isn't a special variety of Christian ideology. It is simply the political ideology which says that Christianity should rule. By a fairly precise analogy with Islamism, it should be called Christianism.
- Gorsuch, Coney Barret, and Boof Boy were all handed their seats with the caveat that they vote down Roe for their sociopath handlers. They don't give a shit beyond that.
- They do one to achieve the other. Always pushing the line as close as they can. Don't pretend they aren't theocratic fascists for a moment.

I am shocked but so relieved by this ruling. Naturally, all of the other conservative justices voted in favor.

Thomas apparently has brainworms.
- No just no ethics or qualms about destroying America as long as he comes out on top.
  
  .
  
  Nah, Thomas will sometimes write his own separate dissents when he votes against something seemingly normal just to prove he actually has no idea what he's talking about and that ChatGPT2 would make a better justice.
  
  He may, also, have brainworms.

Thank fooking christ. Ever since the NYT raised the alarm bells about this being the next big awful decision during the Roe v. Wade overturn, its been in the back of my mind. Glad to see we're not taking another step away from direct democracy.
- Don't you mean democracy?
  Direct democracy means no elected representative. The US system is representative democracy instead.
- There hasn't been direct democracy for decades. Every major party candidate for federal office has absolute allegiance to the ruling plutocrats. You literally cannot vote against the interests of Goldman Sachs and the oligarchs.
  
  There hasn't been direct democracy in the USA, ever.
  We are not a direct democracy.
- Yep, today was a good day somehow. 🤷‍♂️

could someone tl;dr what exactly this was, and what it would do?
- SCOTUS just soundly rejected an idea called "independent state legislature theory" in a case called Moore v. Harper. Here's a good summary of the implications if it had been upheld:
  "Proponents of the independent state legislature theory reject this traditional reading, insisting that these clauses give state legislatures exclusive and near-absolute power to regulate federal elections. The result? When it comes to federal elections, legislators would be free to violate the state constitution and state courts couldn’t stop them."
  https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/independent-state-legislature-theory-explained

The insanity in the ruling is that 3/9 justices voted in favor if this nonsense. Seriously. I expected Thomas and Alito, but Gorsuch also voted in favor? These conservative justices need to be replaced.
- My understanding is that Gorsuch took issue with standing or some other more technical issue. Thomas and Alito are little more than partisan hacks, but Gorsuch generally maintains consistent principles. He was also a key vote in guaranteeing federal employment protections for LGBT people.

Holy SHIT, I actually just gasped out loud. I was genuinely terrified this case was going to be the nuclear bomb that dumped us headlong into full federal fascism in 2024. I can't believe we got a 6-3 ruling against it.
Seems like SCOTUS wants to keep all the power of deciding what's best for us poor civilians to themselves and out of the hands of the legislature. I'm not sure that's ultimately better, but it's certainly going to slow the demise.
- I'm surprised that this isn't getting more attention. All my parents ever talk about now is the stupid fight against trans people, and yet we were a hair's width away from polling stations being surrounded by armed guards at every election like what happened with Bolsonaro in 2022.

They reject level 10, clearly unconstitutional BS that wouldn't even be taken up by the court in a legitimate SCOTUS all so they can then pass level 7 BS that also wouldn't be taken up by a legitimate court.

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