The Supreme Court on Thurs. handed Trump a defeat in the citizenship census case.
The Trump administration told the Court they wanted to include the question to protect voter rights (don’t make me laugh, right?)
The court called this reason a “pretext”—which is how a court calls you a liar.
In fact Trump wanted minorities to be undercounted. This would suppress minority voices in the fed. government because the census determines how many reps are sent to Congress, and the number of electoral votes for a region. This was a win for minority rights and a loss for Trump and white supremacy.
Federal courts have been routinely ruling against Trump. To take a few examples of many:
- A Court blocked federal funds for border wall in parts of CA and NM.
- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to allow doctors into migrant camps.
- A court that ruled against Trump on ending DACA.
Wait, you say. What about the Supreme Court gerrymandering case?
Yes, that was a win for the GOP and the suppression of democratic voices.
The Court ruled that federal courts need to stay out of districting questions.
This means whichever party controls a state after the 2020 elections will be able to redraw lines based on data from the 2020 census.
This will effect state legislatures, but not statewide elections like Senator and POTUS.
And when Democrats can exert more control over federal lawmaking, Congress can take steps to end gerrymandering.
The gerrymandering case isn’t a Make-Trump-a-Dictator case.
It was a typical kind of States-Rights case we’ve had all through U.S. history.
Yes, it’s bad.
It’s the kind of ruling that allowed slavery, Jim Crow, the subjugation of women, etc.
If you’re shocked and discouraged, you’re making the mistake I used to make before I learned the lessons from 2016.
Many people—myself included—thought that Brown v. Board (the 1954 case that ended segregation) put us on a chart that looked like this👇
I assumed the KKK and white supremacy would soon belong to the past, democracy would spread, and conditions would keep getting better.
2016 taught me that the forces that created Jim Crow will always be with us.
There will always be people who believe in natural hierarchies.
It isn’t a battle to be won once. It must be refought in each generation.
At best, the chart will look like this👇
The future is uncertain. It’s naive and a little lazy to expect this👇and to feel angry when it doesn’t happen that way.
The future is uncertain, but it will take the shape it does because of what we do in the present.
The good part: What we do matters.
This is how the gerrymandering case can confer long-term a benefit on the GOP without taking way the fact that GOP long term demographic prospects aren’t good.
As GOP demographics continue to shrink, we can expect more desperate moves.
Don’t be shocked. @TimothyDSnyder says shock is a luxury.
Be prepared.
If the courts are regularly ruling against Trump, why are we still seeing so much despair and discouragement?
Well, obviously, one reason is that Democracy is clearly in trouble worldwide.
There are also industries built around making people feel shocked and discouraged.
These two things are linked: The forces trying to end democracy are also trying to make you feel despair.
Inducing despair is part of the Russian Active Measures against Democracy, because when enough people lose confidence in democracy, it’s all over.
Not all the despair mongering, though, is coming from Russian trolls.
There is more than one industry out there competing for clicks.
Five-star alarms generate more clicks.
“We’re doomed,” has always been a rallying call of demagogues.
Being scared about what is happening is good because it inspires people to take action.
Inducing despair and discouragement does the opposite: It renders people paralyzed, worn out, and unable to act.
The Census decision was a small victory for liberal democracy in America—brought to you by the conservative John Robert Supreme Court. (I’ll admit I was worried.)
Stopping to savor the victories when they happen will give you energy.
A few people made this comment.
It’s not over, but it doesn’t look good for Trump. Trump’s latest (silly and unconstitutional) walk-back idea that he’ll try to delay the census shows he sees the writing on the wall.
Meanwhile, I felt pure relief.
