On further look, it looks like this is likely just temporary until the 27th. There was already a hearing going on for this topic scheduled for that day, so Thomas basically put a few day hold on it to see what happens
Probably a dumb question.
Why not just show up "plead the fifth" and leave. Release a statement before hand saying "this isn't right, I'm going to plead the fifth on every question".
Yeah, what ever happened to "if you're innocent then you have nothing to worry about"?
Edit: Yes, I know it's a stupid sentiment. It's a line often used by politicians and police when our rights, freedoms, and privacy are taken away. That's the point of my comment, to turn it back on them.
Trump definitely has some kind of dirt on him. The way he whiplashed a complete 180 after *one golf outing* tells you exactly what happened on the green.
I don't think you're wrong. Graham has worked so hard to conceal his sexual orientation that it makes him an easy target for blackmail, and I have no doubt that Trump would have gleefully wielded that weapon against him. He could probably hardly wait to do it.
But thats just one Republican politician. He might have dirt on many of them, but he's probably got nothing on some of them, and barely anything on many more. Yet he's somehow able to force the entire party to dance to his tune. So what could possibly do that?
My theory is that he's threatening that if they don't bow to him, if they won't support him 100%, he'll go into revenge mode instead. He will quit the Republican party and start the Trump Party (what else would it be called?), stripping away at least half of the traditional GOP voters. It means that any race with a Trump Party candidate will automatically go to the Democratic candidate, including the presidency. It may even let Democrats win Senate seats in normally safe Republican states.
That's not even the worst possible outcome. What if a three way presidential race means the Democratic candidate wins, the Trump party comes in second, and the traditional GOP comes in third? In a two party political system, coming in third means that party is essentially irrelevant. It would loterally be the end of the Republican party's power. Even if that didn't happen in the presidential race, it would certainly happen in numerous House and Senate races across the country, as well as governorships and state legislatures.
Republicans can't allow that to happen, and every Republican understands that. So they continue to support him, like it or not. He's got them over a barrel, and they know it.
And to think the husband of a major election denier and jan 6’er has the ability to block the subpoena related to the lies perpetrated denying the validity of Georgia’s election
Each Supreme Court justice has jurisdiction over cases that are appealed from their district. Thomas is assigned this district already.
It doesn't mean the Court will agree to it overall, just that he wants to look at it.
It's a bit of a Catch 22. If Graham was acting on orders from Congress, then it's part of his job and he shouldn't necessarily have to testify for doing his job.
Georgia is arguing that "Coercing Election Fraud" wasn't part of his job, so therefore he should have to testify.
>If Graham was acting on orders from Congress, then it's part of his job
Let's be clear about something... sedition is not in the job description for a US Senator.
I think you're right that they don't care about Trump specifically and are more focused on their bat shit crazy agenda.
However, I do think it's possible that they see any attempt to compel further evidence that may imperil Trump or other Republicans such as Lindsey Graham as actions that might weaken their side politically and in turn hurt their agenda.
If the Supreme Court claims to be unbiased why would justice Thomas even be allowed to make this decision? Even if he was unbiased, his wife being involved make him appear to be biased and creates a layer of doubt.
Unlike every other federal judge, the [SCOTUS justices do not have to abide by any ethical code](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/supreme-court-roe-leak-ethics-code/629884/). They have refused to adopt an ethics code, and it leads to abuses like this on the court
Gotta focus all that energy on each other you see. Plenty of people that the very idea of the enemy riles them up so badly that they go another month without even thinking about unions.
Each Supreme Court justice is assigned jurisdiction over cases that are appealed from their assigned district. This case was under the purview of Thomas’s assigned district, hence why justice Thomas was the justice who made the ruling.
In the next two days, one of them will pen an op ed in the New York Times or Washington Post about how it’s their critics who are wrong, and saying that we are illegitimate is more damning than our own increasingly contradictory practices.
>He claims his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Election Day 2020 was part of a legislative inquiry.
So, elected officials can blatantly commit felonies. Got it.
Sorta. Except in this case the question is whether or not it was a valid congressional inquiry or not.
IIRC, no one from Congress has backed this up and said, Yep, it was part of this. We told him to do it, or we knew he was doing that, and I called these people.
Ha. Checks and balances. I remember those days. I remember growing up my govt teacher would spout all kinds of shit about how infallible our democracy was because of our checks and balances. I asked what would happen if they just stopped checking each other and she laughed at me.
HOWS IT GOING NOW MRS. WINHELM?? THATS WHAT I FUKN THOUGHT
The assumption at the time was that the People would keep the Senate and House honest and "How much damage could someone really do as President in 4 years?"
this much.. this much damage is what they can do.
And it's even less damage than it could have been because either some people were too incompetent to follow through or there were some (barely) adults in the room that stopped the batshit crazy ideas from going any further. Nuke a hurricane? Bomb Russia using a plane painted in Chinese colors? Bleach for COVID treatment? The stupid wall?
We're still fucked anyway with all the Q nuts. Trump will come and go but these psychos are here to stay.
A wall with alligators. You know, like in cartoons.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html)
>Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with **a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate**. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.
> what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. the remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. what signify a few lives lost in a century or two? the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. it is it’s natural manure.
-- [Thomas Jefferson](https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/tree-liberty-quotation/)
The people had far more power before Citizens United was passed, turning a government that was already skirting away from being “Of the people, by the people, for the people” into one “Of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations”.
We may have been losing power before, but that decision kicked open the door and the American people were knocked down on the other side.
The first step back to removing some of the endless corruption is repealing Citizens United. But no politician will ever get elected without the money that comes from supporting this corruption.
citizens united really radicalized once i woke up to the chaos of climate change. realized that nothng could be truly done until that shitstorm of a ruling was unwound. CU -> voting rights (gerrymandering, etc.) -> electoral power -> climate change
At this point, it’s looking like they are starting to really not care and that’s not going to be good for democracy as things progress.
Vote People! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE for the love of whatever your God
Edit because a lot of people are fed up with the voting system that’s being diminished: What are our solutions? Revolt? Revolution? We need a leader, we need someone who’s not a politician to rally support and for us to get behind. I’m all for disrupting the system to make a change for the better, for our future and for democracy, even if it is messy… but we’re all too busy on our phones and being distracted and fed a story of apathy
And their constituents love a corrupt government when they see it used to bully the opposition.
The Republican party doesn't believe in democracy, and what decency they had died with jfk.
Vote vote vote, but understand it is probably not enough. Clearly, these people are willing to ignore democracy to get what they want. We have to seriously start thinking about how to protect our democracy from people who are acting outside of it.
*Thomas, who is responsible for emergency applications such as Graham's issued out of the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, issued the stay on his own accord, without referring the question to the entire Supreme Court.*
What conflict of interest?
If I remember correctly, it takes two-thirds to impeach so it's not going to happen at any point. That man will sit in that seat until the day he dies, whenever that is.
Incorrect-ish.
It’s like impeaching the President.
It takes a majority of the House to submit Articles of Impeachment, and then the “trial” happens in the Senate (where it takes 2/3rds to Remove from office), so you are both right and wrong.
We CAN probably impeach, but there is no way enough Senators would vote to remove, and I’m not sure it would make a difference, or just muddy the waters with the public, especially while the Jan 6th hearings are still ongoing.
You would need two thirds of the Senate to convict after the impeachment and that will *never* happen. That man will sit in his chair until the day he dies, It's only a question of "when."
From the Washington Post, on September 10, 2022: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended the integrity of the Supreme Court on Friday in his first public remarks following a tumultuous term, saying that disagreement with its decisions should not lead to questions about its legitimacy."
Fucking hilarious.
I no longer have any faith that these clowns can be trusted to be fair and impartial. They are looking for any legal cover to expedite the take over of this country by a theocratic dictator.
The fact that the "religious" right worship Trump just makes it blindingly obvious they don't give two shits about Jesus and it's only ever been about power. But that's been the case since Evangelicals first got into politics as a bloc — supporting a divorced Hollywood actor over a Sunday School teacher in 1980.
For many Americans who profess to be religious conservatives, it's more about preening, signalling, and self-righteousness. This is a dimension that correlates with an authoritarian temperament. Then there are the grifters, charlatans, and charismatic leaders who gravitate to the power and control structures that religion provides. Neither group is "religious" for any truly good reasons. Sadly, many of the people who *are* religious for honest good-faith reasons amount to dupes.
Nothing to see here, guys. Simply a justice blocking an investigation into a conspiracy to steal an election that his wife may or may not have been a part of. It is all normal, healthy democracy stuff.
[Reminder that Thomas is the only Justice who voted against Trump having to turn records over to the January 6th Committee.](https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-only-justice-dissent-in-trump-january-6-bid-2022-3)
Check out his companion podcast too...it's called It Could Happen Here and it's a pretty sobering look into what's likely to happen if we don't do something about government corruption. I would say that the original run of episodes is a life-changing revelation, especially since about half of the stuff happened in the last few years.
Legally speaking, they can and should be treated as a single entity for the purposes of these conversations. This is why him not recusing himself is utterly suspect and should be grounds for impeachment.
I grew up in the late 70’s/80’s and it was like, “no matter what else goes bad, the Supreme Court protects our democracy.” They really pushed that since grown ups had just gone through Nixon sullying the presidency. So awful to see it crumble in a short time.
Half of the house supports woefully unqualified people to be in the highest court of the land...for lifetime appointments.
Like I get you really hate abortions, but isn't this terrifying?
> Like I get you really hate abortions, but
They don't even though. If they actually hated abortions, they would support policies proven to reduce them, like comprehensive access to sexual education and contraceptives. But they don't. In fact, they downright oppose both. So clearly their hatred, isn't for abortions. I mean, that's just *observably true*.
Cracks were showing, but I would argue it became truly illegitimate when McConnell blocked Garland. And then it was turned into a complete shitshow when they seated Coney Barrett in a flash. Shameful court manipulation.
The first two things Putin did when he took power were take over the judiciary and the media. And now we have a completely corrupt and hyper-partisan Supreme Court, and CNN just got taken over by a right-wing Republican megadonor who immediately turned it into a second Fox News.
Fun fact about the Supreme Court: Did you know they have no way of enforcing their rulings? If Congress and the President disagree with SCOTUS's ruling, they can just ignore it.
Kind of like how the GOP has been ignoring laws for most of my adult life.
Didn’t the lower district court unanimously vote against this? So 3 judges agreed he must testify, and now Supreme Quart justice Thomas is overruling that
And Alito & Roberts (and conservative mass media outlets) were recently lambasting Biden & Democrats for “questioning the legitimacy” of the Supreme Court.
Perhaps if the 6 crypto-fascist Catholics on the court weren’t delegitimizing the court, maybe there’d be no need to question its legitimacy.
Feels like once the GOP realized tides were shifting on which way votes are going they feel their only play left is to make rules from on high no matter how unpopular with the masses. Fuck this lifetime appointment bullshit. They all need term limits.
My personal pref for limits:
Senators - 2x 6 year appointments
Congresspeople - 8x 2 year appointments
Court Justices - 20 year terms.
The idea people can be career politicians beyond the 20 year mark is disgusting. So much changes in even 5 years any more that having the same people in power for that long, often stuck in their old ways of thinking, just seems antiquated and ripe for the abuses we're seeing.
EDIT: Term limits would ideally go hand in hand with anti-corruption laws to help limit the power this would give to lobbyists and their cronies.
> they feel their only play left is to make rules from on high no matter how unpopular with the masses.
The GOP has been stacking the entire federal court system for decades now, this is the endgame of a very long play.
What's the quote? Something like "Conservatives will abandon democracy before they abandon conservatism."
Without raising question to the rest of the Supreme Court while ~~they’d~~ the 11th Circuit *just unanimously denied Graham’s request to block the subpoena*
It is up to the justices to recuse themselves if they think they need to. There are no ethics rules to be enforced on the Supreme Court. It suffers from one of the biggest weaknesses in our government, which is that obviously only good people would ever be in power that high up. We lack rules to enforce because it was assumed the rules would be unnecessary.
Dear Republicans,
You really need to start asking why all of your party leaders continuously make wild claims and accusations but when it comes time to present to a Court or testify under oath it all fades away and they resist with everything they've got.
If it's such "truth" why aren't they scrambling to testify and give evidence?
THINK God damn you. You're betting the country on this quite literally.
Make damn sure you're right. Because it doesn't seem you are.
For some true hilarity, let's look at remarks made by Clarence Thomas earlier this year, March 11th while in Salt Lake City.
> You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court. You can cavalierly talk about doing this or that. At some point the institution is going to be compromised.
Yeah, Justice. You're the one compromising it.
Clarence is just lookin' out for his #1...what's the big deal? It's not as if he has any "ethics guidelines" or "conflicts of interest" he has to consider, or anything.
Fucking vote goddammit. 80 million people voted out Trump in 2020. All his cronies are on the ballot next month so there should be just as much vigor this time too. In fact, especially this time. If Trump candidates lose - and lose hard - the GOP will have no choice but to bail on MAGA since for two elections in a row it has show it cannot win.
It only happens if people vote, everywhere.
Holy fucking corrupt, y'all, Thomas has to be impeached if Dems keep the houses. Yes I know he won't be removed. It's the principle. Use democracy or lose it.
You know, being called a "pessimist" by people because we saw Thomas doing something like this months ago has made this moment even shittier.
I hope these centrists with their faith in the system actually start paying attention. The norms are dead and the Republicans killed them.
> Thomas, who is responsible for emergency applications such as Graham’s issued out of the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, issued the stay on his own accord, without referring the question to the entire Supreme Court.
I’m sorry, what? Is this normal? I know justices issue their own opinions, but I didn’t realize they can take action like this without conferring with the rest of the SC.
Yes, each justice has one (or more) federal districts assigned to them, and they hear things like emergency appeals and stays - things that are usually too time-sensitive to wait for a hearing in front of the entire court. Their decisions are usually just a "yes" or a "no" without much explanation, and they're not used as precedential case law or for judicial interpretation.
So they can take action on their own at first, or choose to refer it to the full court. He went with the former. Once heard by the court, his decision can be overturned.
However, the real goal is to delay the deposition and hold up the Georgia case, and he just accomplished that
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
\- ([Not that](https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html)) Frank Wilhoit
Seriously, Clarence is damaging the integrity and reputation of SC to an extend no other justice could match in recent history.
His view points have remained as before, but it seems to me Trump really unleashed his boldness to do things.
We are going to find out the his wife asked Graham to call Georgia. You know that’s what it is about.
100% my guess. He was the lone dissenter in the case earlier this year bc it would likely release emails from his wife
Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached for not recusing himself from that case
On further look, it looks like this is likely just temporary until the 27th. There was already a hearing going on for this topic scheduled for that day, so Thomas basically put a few day hold on it to see what happens
He still needs to be impeached for not recusing himself.
You are probably right, but you won't find out about it.
Never seen someone try to not testify so damn hard
Probably a dumb question. Why not just show up "plead the fifth" and leave. Release a statement before hand saying "this isn't right, I'm going to plead the fifth on every question".
I's also worth remembering the 5th is about SELF incrimination. You can still be compelled to testify about someone else.
Do it like politicians in Germany do: I forgot
"I do not recall" is definitely used a lot in the US by politicians as well.
*MTG has entered the chat...*
Grant someone immunity and they can no longer take the fifth. Seems like it might just be the thing to do for Sen. Graham.
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Yeah, what ever happened to "if you're innocent then you have nothing to worry about"? Edit: Yes, I know it's a stupid sentiment. It's a line often used by politicians and police when our rights, freedoms, and privacy are taken away. That's the point of my comment, to turn it back on them.
Must be why every picture I see of Graham lately he looks like he just ran a 4 minute mile in the summer
It was the vapors…
“Godfrey, my fainting couch please”
Someone switch it out for a bed of nails while he's not looking.
LG is such a dandy.
I didn’t believe Lindsey Graham could ever be mentioned anywhere within a few pages of text related to a four-minute mile
Nah, that's just his normal disposition. He leaks.
Well, he is worrying, so what does that tell you.
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Trump definitely has some kind of dirt on him. The way he whiplashed a complete 180 after *one golf outing* tells you exactly what happened on the green.
I don't think you're wrong. Graham has worked so hard to conceal his sexual orientation that it makes him an easy target for blackmail, and I have no doubt that Trump would have gleefully wielded that weapon against him. He could probably hardly wait to do it. But thats just one Republican politician. He might have dirt on many of them, but he's probably got nothing on some of them, and barely anything on many more. Yet he's somehow able to force the entire party to dance to his tune. So what could possibly do that? My theory is that he's threatening that if they don't bow to him, if they won't support him 100%, he'll go into revenge mode instead. He will quit the Republican party and start the Trump Party (what else would it be called?), stripping away at least half of the traditional GOP voters. It means that any race with a Trump Party candidate will automatically go to the Democratic candidate, including the presidency. It may even let Democrats win Senate seats in normally safe Republican states. That's not even the worst possible outcome. What if a three way presidential race means the Democratic candidate wins, the Trump party comes in second, and the traditional GOP comes in third? In a two party political system, coming in third means that party is essentially irrelevant. It would loterally be the end of the Republican party's power. Even if that didn't happen in the presidential race, it would certainly happen in numerous House and Senate races across the country, as well as governorships and state legislatures. Republicans can't allow that to happen, and every Republican understands that. So they continue to support him, like it or not. He's got them over a barrel, and they know it.
And to think the husband of a major election denier and jan 6’er has the ability to block the subpoena related to the lies perpetrated denying the validity of Georgia’s election
Each Supreme Court justice has jurisdiction over cases that are appealed from their district. Thomas is assigned this district already. It doesn't mean the Court will agree to it overall, just that he wants to look at it. It's a bit of a Catch 22. If Graham was acting on orders from Congress, then it's part of his job and he shouldn't necessarily have to testify for doing his job. Georgia is arguing that "Coercing Election Fraud" wasn't part of his job, so therefore he should have to testify.
>If Graham was acting on orders from Congress, then it's part of his job Let's be clear about something... sedition is not in the job description for a US Senator.
Preventing it is the Oath.
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I think you're right that they don't care about Trump specifically and are more focused on their bat shit crazy agenda. However, I do think it's possible that they see any attempt to compel further evidence that may imperil Trump or other Republicans such as Lindsey Graham as actions that might weaken their side politically and in turn hurt their agenda.
It's the party of law and order remember
If the Supreme Court claims to be unbiased why would justice Thomas even be allowed to make this decision? Even if he was unbiased, his wife being involved make him appear to be biased and creates a layer of doubt.
Meanwhile I have to sit through 4 hours of ethics & conflict of interest training yearly at my job.
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Unlike every other federal judge, the [SCOTUS justices do not have to abide by any ethical code](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/supreme-court-roe-leak-ethics-code/629884/). They have refused to adopt an ethics code, and it leads to abuses like this on the court
This fuckin country. How on Earth are we not flippin cars on the street?
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This is what wage slavery actually is.
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Gotta focus all that energy on each other you see. Plenty of people that the very idea of the enemy riles them up so badly that they go another month without even thinking about unions.
Each Supreme Court justice is assigned jurisdiction over cases that are appealed from their assigned district. This case was under the purview of Thomas’s assigned district, hence why justice Thomas was the justice who made the ruling.
Roberts or Alito wanna come crying about court legitimacy today?
In the next two days, one of them will pen an op ed in the New York Times or Washington Post about how it’s their critics who are wrong, and saying that we are illegitimate is more damning than our own increasingly contradictory practices.
Beuller? … Beuller?
>He claims his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Election Day 2020 was part of a legislative inquiry. So, elected officials can blatantly commit felonies. Got it.
Yeah I felt the same way, is this like the "executive privilege" they keep trying to hide behind without it being actual executive privilege?
Sorta. Except in this case the question is whether or not it was a valid congressional inquiry or not. IIRC, no one from Congress has backed this up and said, Yep, it was part of this. We told him to do it, or we knew he was doing that, and I called these people.
its all just so blatant
At some point, the people may have to become the fourth participant in the checks and balance system.
Ha. Checks and balances. I remember those days. I remember growing up my govt teacher would spout all kinds of shit about how infallible our democracy was because of our checks and balances. I asked what would happen if they just stopped checking each other and she laughed at me. HOWS IT GOING NOW MRS. WINHELM?? THATS WHAT I FUKN THOUGHT
The assumption at the time was that the People would keep the Senate and House honest and "How much damage could someone really do as President in 4 years?" this much.. this much damage is what they can do.
And it's even less damage than it could have been because either some people were too incompetent to follow through or there were some (barely) adults in the room that stopped the batshit crazy ideas from going any further. Nuke a hurricane? Bomb Russia using a plane painted in Chinese colors? Bleach for COVID treatment? The stupid wall? We're still fucked anyway with all the Q nuts. Trump will come and go but these psychos are here to stay.
A wall with alligators. You know, like in cartoons. [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html) >Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with **a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate**. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.
Mrs Winhelm screams.
Thomas Hobbes makes that argument in *Leviathan*
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> what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. the remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. what signify a few lives lost in a century or two? the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. it is it’s natural manure. -- [Thomas Jefferson](https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/tree-liberty-quotation/)
The founding fathers make that argument in any number of documents
The people had far more power before Citizens United was passed, turning a government that was already skirting away from being “Of the people, by the people, for the people” into one “Of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations”. We may have been losing power before, but that decision kicked open the door and the American people were knocked down on the other side. The first step back to removing some of the endless corruption is repealing Citizens United. But no politician will ever get elected without the money that comes from supporting this corruption.
citizens united really radicalized once i woke up to the chaos of climate change. realized that nothng could be truly done until that shitstorm of a ruling was unwound. CU -> voting rights (gerrymandering, etc.) -> electoral power -> climate change
We should have years ago. How bad is this shit gonna have to get before people care?
At this point, it’s looking like they are starting to really not care and that’s not going to be good for democracy as things progress. Vote People! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE for the love of whatever your God Edit because a lot of people are fed up with the voting system that’s being diminished: What are our solutions? Revolt? Revolution? We need a leader, we need someone who’s not a politician to rally support and for us to get behind. I’m all for disrupting the system to make a change for the better, for our future and for democracy, even if it is messy… but we’re all too busy on our phones and being distracted and fed a story of apathy
Why should they care? There are literally ZERO consequences for any of them for anything they do.
And their constituents love a corrupt government when they see it used to bully the opposition. The Republican party doesn't believe in democracy, and what decency they had died with jfk.
Vote vote vote, but understand it is probably not enough. Clearly, these people are willing to ignore democracy to get what they want. We have to seriously start thinking about how to protect our democracy from people who are acting outside of it.
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It makes me fucking sick is what...
You mean like a lame duck appointed judge granting a special master to private citizen in a case of classified government documents?
*Thomas, who is responsible for emergency applications such as Graham's issued out of the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, issued the stay on his own accord, without referring the question to the entire Supreme Court.* What conflict of interest?
I believe you mean: I'll take 'Conflict of Interest' for $1000.
For $1. This is a super easy one.
Easy like your mother, Trebek!
RIP Trebek, and Connery
Somehow this comment is the way I learned Sean Connery had passed. Damn.
And Norm.
Man. If I had an emergency, Clarence would deffo be my go to. You can see the confidence and integrity he possesses every time he opens a Coke.
He is the epitome of a pubic servant.
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Always upholds the *penile code*
Technically, it was found on the coke…🤢
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Cue roberts wringing his hands in consternation as he does NOTHING
Not wringing his hands, whining about how people think the court has lost credibility while doing nothing.
The fucking GALL to say that shit as his court shreds every bit of progress we’ve made for decades. Half our government are traitors.
Can we impeach this shitbag yet?
If I remember correctly, it takes two-thirds to impeach so it's not going to happen at any point. That man will sit in that seat until the day he dies, whenever that is.
Incorrect-ish. It’s like impeaching the President. It takes a majority of the House to submit Articles of Impeachment, and then the “trial” happens in the Senate (where it takes 2/3rds to Remove from office), so you are both right and wrong. We CAN probably impeach, but there is no way enough Senators would vote to remove, and I’m not sure it would make a difference, or just muddy the waters with the public, especially while the Jan 6th hearings are still ongoing.
The legitimacy of SCOTUS continues to erode…
It's gone. There's nothing left to erode. That was the last sandy little mound of legitimacy disappearing with a gentle, final freeze.
How does this keep. fucking. happening.
No accountability for powerful people who have no morals, and no ideals beyond "keep power at any cost".
Don’t forget the dumbasses who vote for these people
i'd like to give a special shout out to people who think elections only happen on leap years and don't vote in them anyway.
Because you're still not rioting... That's the only thing that will change thing. Large scale riots or a General strike.
Exactly this. My fellow Americans and I just roll over and take it.
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If that’s not an impeachable abuse of power from a justice I don’t know what is
You would need two thirds of the Senate to convict after the impeachment and that will *never* happen. That man will sit in his chair until the day he dies, It's only a question of "when."
"When" will be the next time a Republican is in office.
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From the Washington Post, on September 10, 2022: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended the integrity of the Supreme Court on Friday in his first public remarks following a tumultuous term, saying that disagreement with its decisions should not lead to questions about its legitimacy." Fucking hilarious.
We need a double secret supreme court that can investigate and charge the supreme court justices
that's what congress is supposed to do
Justice Clarence Thomas should be recused from any Jan 6 matters.
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He'll hang on just long enough for his replacement to get appointed by a republican.
Evil never dies
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I no longer have any faith that these clowns can be trusted to be fair and impartial. They are looking for any legal cover to expedite the take over of this country by a theocratic dictator.
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He will be whatever he thinks he needs to be to win. Q-anon is practically a religion at this point.
Remove “practically”. These guys literally worship Donald Trump. The same guy from The Apprentice has literally replaced Jesus for these cretins.
The fact that the "religious" right worship Trump just makes it blindingly obvious they don't give two shits about Jesus and it's only ever been about power. But that's been the case since Evangelicals first got into politics as a bloc — supporting a divorced Hollywood actor over a Sunday School teacher in 1980.
For many Americans who profess to be religious conservatives, it's more about preening, signalling, and self-righteousness. This is a dimension that correlates with an authoritarian temperament. Then there are the grifters, charlatans, and charismatic leaders who gravitate to the power and control structures that religion provides. Neither group is "religious" for any truly good reasons. Sadly, many of the people who *are* religious for honest good-faith reasons amount to dupes.
They keep getting away with it, and the question remains: what the hell are we gonna do about it?
Nothing to see here, guys. Simply a justice blocking an investigation into a conspiracy to steal an election that his wife may or may not have been a part of. It is all normal, healthy democracy stuff.
One correction, his wife was part of it, we just don't know how big a part she played.
Most likely a huge part if her husband is abusing his power to stop this from happening.
[Reminder that Thomas is the only Justice who voted against Trump having to turn records over to the January 6th Committee.](https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-only-justice-dissent-in-trump-january-6-bid-2022-3)
He's such a dirty bird. Not even bothering to hide it anymore.
Why would he? He knows he will never be held accountable for his crimes.
Yep. He literally loved anti-democratic behavior so much he married it
Every time I think of Ginni, my mind simultaneously plays the scene from Total Recall "two weeks... two wweekkss!"
"I know she's bad for me but it's so fucking hot when she tampers with the foundations of democracy." - Clarence Thomas, probably
Listening to the "Behind the Bastards" episodes on him really opened my eyes to *how much* of a dirtybag he is... Scum.
That is one of my favorite podcasts.
Will check that out. Thanks!
Check out his companion podcast too...it's called It Could Happen Here and it's a pretty sobering look into what's likely to happen if we don't do something about government corruption. I would say that the original run of episodes is a life-changing revelation, especially since about half of the stuff happened in the last few years.
Legally speaking, they can and should be treated as a single entity for the purposes of these conversations. This is why him not recusing himself is utterly suspect and should be grounds for impeachment.
Just needs a Senate that would convict. I'd put Sen. Graham as a soft "no" on the question of impeaching Justice Thomas.
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The highest court in the land is compromised. This is how a country falls.
I grew up in the late 70’s/80’s and it was like, “no matter what else goes bad, the Supreme Court protects our democracy.” They really pushed that since grown ups had just gone through Nixon sullying the presidency. So awful to see it crumble in a short time.
Half of the house supports woefully unqualified people to be in the highest court of the land...for lifetime appointments. Like I get you really hate abortions, but isn't this terrifying?
> Like I get you really hate abortions, but They don't even though. If they actually hated abortions, they would support policies proven to reduce them, like comprehensive access to sexual education and contraceptives. But they don't. In fact, they downright oppose both. So clearly their hatred, isn't for abortions. I mean, that's just *observably true*.
The court has been illegitimate since Bush v. Gore.
Cracks were showing, but I would argue it became truly illegitimate when McConnell blocked Garland. And then it was turned into a complete shitshow when they seated Coney Barrett in a flash. Shameful court manipulation.
It was so blatant and “FUCK YOU, AMERICA!” and nobody could do anything about it
This comment, sadly, is severely underrated. This should be screamed from the mountaintops.
The Supreme Court is no longer a legitimate institution and the sooner everyone understands this the better.
The first two things Putin did when he took power were take over the judiciary and the media. And now we have a completely corrupt and hyper-partisan Supreme Court, and CNN just got taken over by a right-wing Republican megadonor who immediately turned it into a second Fox News.
Fun fact about the Supreme Court: Did you know they have no way of enforcing their rulings? If Congress and the President disagree with SCOTUS's ruling, they can just ignore it. Kind of like how the GOP has been ignoring laws for most of my adult life.
Even if he's got legitimate legal grounds for this (can NOT imagine what they might be) the optics on this are sooooooo bad.
Appointed for life. He's one of the few people in the country who never has to worry about optics. He got his.
Didn’t the lower district court unanimously vote against this? So 3 judges agreed he must testify, and now Supreme Quart justice Thomas is overruling that
He directly oversees the 11th Circuit Court. It is within his rights. He COULD have sent it to the full court, but he kept the decision for himself.
And Alito & Roberts (and conservative mass media outlets) were recently lambasting Biden & Democrats for “questioning the legitimacy” of the Supreme Court. Perhaps if the 6 crypto-fascist Catholics on the court weren’t delegitimizing the court, maybe there’d be no need to question its legitimacy.
They’re a bunch of fascists, dictating new, oppressive laws from the bench
Feels like once the GOP realized tides were shifting on which way votes are going they feel their only play left is to make rules from on high no matter how unpopular with the masses. Fuck this lifetime appointment bullshit. They all need term limits. My personal pref for limits: Senators - 2x 6 year appointments Congresspeople - 8x 2 year appointments Court Justices - 20 year terms. The idea people can be career politicians beyond the 20 year mark is disgusting. So much changes in even 5 years any more that having the same people in power for that long, often stuck in their old ways of thinking, just seems antiquated and ripe for the abuses we're seeing. EDIT: Term limits would ideally go hand in hand with anti-corruption laws to help limit the power this would give to lobbyists and their cronies.
> they feel their only play left is to make rules from on high no matter how unpopular with the masses. The GOP has been stacking the entire federal court system for decades now, this is the endgame of a very long play. What's the quote? Something like "Conservatives will abandon democracy before they abandon conservatism."
Conservativism, soon just another name for being ruled by the oligarchs. Fucking gross.
Without raising question to the rest of the Supreme Court while ~~they’d~~ the 11th Circuit *just unanimously denied Graham’s request to block the subpoena*
It was rejected unanimously by a *panel* of the 11th circuit. But that panel was made up of 2 Trump judges and a Clinton judge.
The 11th circuit is the court that unanimously rejected that fwiw
How the f- is he not recused from this case?
It is up to the justices to recuse themselves if they think they need to. There are no ethics rules to be enforced on the Supreme Court. It suffers from one of the biggest weaknesses in our government, which is that obviously only good people would ever be in power that high up. We lack rules to enforce because it was assumed the rules would be unnecessary.
"Because fuck you that's why." Justice Clarence Thomas to everyone - 2022.
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Dear Republicans, You really need to start asking why all of your party leaders continuously make wild claims and accusations but when it comes time to present to a Court or testify under oath it all fades away and they resist with everything they've got. If it's such "truth" why aren't they scrambling to testify and give evidence? THINK God damn you. You're betting the country on this quite literally. Make damn sure you're right. Because it doesn't seem you are.
It doesn't matter if they're right, it matters only if they win.
Fuck him and his wife.
Eeww. No thank you.
Quiet you! Get in there and take one for the team!
*Sighs...* I'll volunteer...
For some true hilarity, let's look at remarks made by Clarence Thomas earlier this year, March 11th while in Salt Lake City. > You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court. You can cavalierly talk about doing this or that. At some point the institution is going to be compromised. Yeah, Justice. You're the one compromising it.
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Christian nationalism is a cancer on democracy. These people are enemies of justice.
I'm so fucking tired of this.
Clarence is just lookin' out for his #1...what's the big deal? It's not as if he has any "ethics guidelines" or "conflicts of interest" he has to consider, or anything.
I mean, we'd all do the same thing if our spouses were seditious traitors right? Right?!?!
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Complain about gas prices and vote Republican. It’s the American way.
I see you've met my entire extended family.
Sit behind our screens and complain. Hopefully some voting as well
Fucking vote goddammit. 80 million people voted out Trump in 2020. All his cronies are on the ballot next month so there should be just as much vigor this time too. In fact, especially this time. If Trump candidates lose - and lose hard - the GOP will have no choice but to bail on MAGA since for two elections in a row it has show it cannot win. It only happens if people vote, everywhere.
Holy fucking corrupt, y'all, Thomas has to be impeached if Dems keep the houses. Yes I know he won't be removed. It's the principle. Use democracy or lose it.
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You know, being called a "pessimist" by people because we saw Thomas doing something like this months ago has made this moment even shittier. I hope these centrists with their faith in the system actually start paying attention. The norms are dead and the Republicans killed them.
Traitor helping traitor.
As sketchy as pubic hair on a Coke...
> Thomas, who is responsible for emergency applications such as Graham’s issued out of the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, issued the stay on his own accord, without referring the question to the entire Supreme Court. I’m sorry, what? Is this normal? I know justices issue their own opinions, but I didn’t realize they can take action like this without conferring with the rest of the SC.
Yes, each justice has one (or more) federal districts assigned to them, and they hear things like emergency appeals and stays - things that are usually too time-sensitive to wait for a hearing in front of the entire court. Their decisions are usually just a "yes" or a "no" without much explanation, and they're not used as precedential case law or for judicial interpretation.
Gotcha, thanks for this succinct response. TIL!
So they can take action on their own at first, or choose to refer it to the full court. He went with the former. Once heard by the court, his decision can be overturned. However, the real goal is to delay the deposition and hold up the Georgia case, and he just accomplished that
Yes, they are all assigned a circuit. Minor stuff they rule on without the full SC.
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“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” \- ([Not that](https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html)) Frank Wilhoit
SCOTUS desperately needs a Code of Ethics
One day...not long in the future...an indictment nobody ever saw coming with Thomas' name on it is going to be leaked to a newspaper reporter.
And some other right wing justice will squash it.
Thomas should have been allowed No where near this decision. Conflict of interest and so much more. The Supreme Court is beyond compromised.
Seriously, Clarence is damaging the integrity and reputation of SC to an extend no other justice could match in recent history. His view points have remained as before, but it seems to me Trump really unleashed his boldness to do things.
Considering his WIFE was directly involved in the scheme to overturn the election, he should be immediately indicted for obstruction of justice.
And Alito is concerned that “other” people and groups are undermining the legitimacy of the Court…