A day that will live in infamy
I am terrified. July 1, 2024 will be, to quote Franklin Roosevelt, "A day that will live in infamy.". The United States Supreme Court appears to have decided that the rule of law and a constitutional republic are nowhere mandated in the original intent of our constitution. Since the individual who this decision lets off the hook is clearly angling for an authoritarian dictatorship, the dangers are very great.
In the ordinary course of things, Donald Trump's inclinations would not be much of a threat. Trump's personal shortcomings limit his ability to do permanent damage to our country. First of all, the man is just not very intelligent. Additionally, his monstrous narcissism is so severe that he is effectively delusional. Beyond that, he is lazy. This combination of character traits gives rise to a stunning instance of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. According to Wikipedia, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. Those with long memories may recall that during Trump's first Presidential campaign he claimed that he understood war better than the generals.
During his Presidency, the result was policy making by flattery. Lacking the ability to judge policy proposals, he chose based which ideas were presented in the most sycophantic style. This is why there were no coherent policies developed and the Trump Administration was enveloped in chaos.
However, the extreme right has recognized the shortcomings of the Trump Presidency. Their response has been to develop a detailed blueprint of the policies to be adopted in a future Trump Administration. The document runs to some 900 pages, so few people are likely to read it in its entirety. Some lowlights:
A nationwide ban on abortion, contraception, and in vitro fertilization.
Dismissal of professional civil servants and their replacement by MAGA loyalists.
Withdrawal from NATO and other international organizations.
Abandoning support for Ukraine, leaving it to Vladimir Putin's gentle mercies. Effectively this would cede all of Eastern Europe to Russia.
Achieve the long running Republican obsession with eliminating Social Security, Medicare.
There is obviously much more, but this gives the flavor.
How would the Supreme Court react to the elimination of civil service protections? Justice Thomas or Alito will no doubt note that there is no constitutional language specifically authorizing creation of a civil service. BTW, the Supremes appear to also be suffering from Dunning-Kruger, since their recent decision replaces trained professionals evaluating regulations with judges well versed in law but little else.
The dangers these events present are ominous. Donald Trump must never be permitted to befoul the Oval Office again. Vote in November like your life depends upon it. In some cases it literally does.