Sickly senators

I don’t trust Clarence Thomas. He is corrupt. ProPublica has proved the corruption in a series of stunning articles that demonstrate the absolute necessity of journalism within a free society. Journalism protects liberty every bit as much as the US military.

The simple truth is that the American people don’t trust or respect the Supreme Court. They have lost faith in one of the nation’s most essential institutions. There is no figure who more perfectly encapsulates this era of judicial corruption better than Clarence Thomas. His elevation to the US Supreme Court in 1991 was a tragedy. The system failed. A man of the lowest character was elevated to replace Thurgood Marshall, a towering figure in American history. Trust was electrocuted by the man who liked to talk about pubic hair with Anita Hill, while tormenting her.  

I ran the confirmation process for two Supreme Court confirmations. The first was for Chief Justice John Roberts. He will always be a person whom I hold in the very highest regard. It must break his heart and spirit to see the collapse of the Court’s integrity in this rancid era of corruption, extremism and politics. The second was for Samuel Alito, the aggrieved and angry extremist who lied under oath at his hearings about his fidelity to precedent. He has never recovered from his hearings. They were a profoundly psychologically jarring experience for him. Trust me. The result is another angry man with a lifetime appointment and a chip on his shoulder. It does bear mentioning that Sam Alito wouldn’t have made it to the Supreme Court if a coalition of pre-MAGA conservatives and Democrats didn’t destroy the nomination of Harriet Miers, whom I wish was on the Supreme Court. She is a person of tremendous integrity, who would have been a tremendous justice, but was smeared into dust. It’s also important to remember that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87 years old and a three-time cancer survivor, including pancreatic cancer, refused to retire and allow President Obama to nominate her successor. The result was Amy Coney Barrett.

Mitch McConnell, 81, was reportedly concussed and admitted to a hospital after a hotel room fall in the Waldorf Astoria following a fundraiser. This occurred on March 8. He has not been seen since. Whatever his condition may be it, is obvious that it is far more serious than a concussion. On Thursday, Ben Domenech, the serial plagiarist and co-founder of the extremist, pro-MAGA, pro-Putin Federalist, got MAGA tongues drooling when he reported that the race to succeed McConnell is underway. Like a decrepit Don surrounded by scheming Capos, the news cajoled the geriatric leader who broke the Senate, out of his dark room and back to Washington this coming Monday. It appears that he will not go gently into that good MAGA night after all. What a blessing for America and his phalanx of former aides who control the tollbooths and access to his office.

Until 48 hours ago, Democrats were not able to fight back against the extremist and corrupt Trump judiciary with competent and ethical jurists because Dianne Feinstein’s absence from the Judiciary Committee denies the Democratic majority of one and actual majority on the committee. I tweeted this about Feinstein exactly one year ago today:

[NOTE: I wish that I could embed the above tweet thread, but since Elon Musk continues to prevent Substack writers from doing that, I have shared them as photos.]

This week, Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat representing Silicon Valley, made an important point with a statement of the profoundly obvious:

It’s time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.

The obvious question is this: when did the United States adopt the old Soviet model for reporting and disclosure about the health of the most powerful people in the country? I’m waiting for an all-screens interruption of classical music for a few hours before the announcement. Anyone else feel reminded a bit of the Andropov and Chernenko eras? It’s ridiculous.

The American people deserve transparency and clear information about the health of political leaders who are obviously unfit for duty. These positions are not peerages. It’s absurd. In the meantime, let the distrust fire grow.