Delegitimizing the Supreme Court

Plus: A look back at Rochelle Walensky's tenure as head of the CDC

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Delegitimizing the Supreme Court

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman take a deep dive into the ongoing controversies around the Supreme Court justices as well as Rochelle Walensky's tenure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

0:31: Ongoing SCOTUS controversies

24:10: Rochelle Walensky stepping down as head of the CDC

41:43: Weekly Listener Question

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Is Clarence Thomas Ethically Challenged?" by Matt Welch, Liz Wolfe, Peter Suderman, and Nick Gillespie

Supreme Court approval rating hits historic low, according to a Gallup poll.

"Randy Barnett: Abortion, Guns, and the Future of the Supreme Court," by Nick Gillespie

"Justice Thomas Long Ago Explained His Perspective On Disclosure Laws," by Josh Blackman

"Another Judicial Ethics Story About Justice Thomas Falls Apart," by Josh Blackman

"Law firm head brought Gorsuch-owned property," by Heidi Przybyla

All In with Chris Hayes on Twitter

"Rochelle Walensky Leaves a CDC That's Far More Powerful Than When She Entered It," by Robby Soave

"WHO Declares Global COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Over," by Ronald Bailey

"Don't Be Fooled by Randi Weingarten's Rehabilitation Tour," Liz Wolfe

"Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Refuses To Acknowledge the Government's Misrepresentation of Mask Research," by Jacob Sullum

"CDC's New 'Reopening' Guidance Will Keep Schools Closed in the Fall," by Matt Welch

"Democrats attack conservative Supreme Court justices but have long ignored liberal justices' ethical issues," by Joe Schoffstall

"Emails Show CDC Policed COVID Speech on Facebook," by Robby Soave, Nick Gillespie, and Zach Weissmueller

"The FDA and CDC's Coronavirus Response Is a 'Failure of Historic Proportions,'" by Nick Gillespie

"The CDC Made America's Pandemic Worse," by Peter Suderman

"COVID-19 Exposed the Truth About the CDC," by Justin Monticello

"A quarter of Americans distrust CDC recommendations," by Alexander Tin

"Garden Gnome Politics," by Greg Beato

"HOAs Are Popular Where Prejudice Is Strong and Government Is Weak," by David Montgomery

"Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City that Outsourced Everything," by Paul Feine and Alex Manning

"'Startup Cities,' Honduras, and Experiments in Freedom. Professor Tom W. Bell Talks With Reason," by Zach Weissmueller

"Meet Newton Howard, the Brain Scientist Who Put Giant Transformers in Front of His D.C. Home," by Noor Greene

Send your questions to [e-mail]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's Sponsors:

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Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

What are we consuming this week?

Nick Gillespie

• "Nothing Special" by Nicole Flattery

Peter Suderman

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Matt Welch

• Major League

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Acton Children's Business Fair

---

Comments

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

So what's the deal here with this controversy I haven't followed that closely? Because a justice hasn't died leaving an empty office, they're just trying to kill one?

[VULGAR MADMAN]

Nah, they’re just hoping a random loon does the job for them.

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[Stuck in California]

The left figured out they could get away with quite a bit when they were able to spin Kavanaugh lambasting them for their hit job as his being "unjudicial" in temperament. Now the supreme court is getting the full leftist push, where they get the loyal press to repeat some talking point or other, and the court has to somehow sound impartial and aloof, to avoid getting dragged into the fray.

The leak before the Roe reversal was meant to intimidate. Justices have said as much. The recent thing is to spin non-controversial, perfectly legal, ethical relationships as though they're a scandal then just move on to the next one when they turn into nothing. If you release enough tiny little stories as the news cycle moves on then people forget that none of them are untoward in the least.

I'm guessing they're hoping to make Clarence Thomas quit, but making the whole court look illegitimate is probably fine with a lot of the more progressive folks these days as they see the constitutional check on their actions as a hindrance to their agenda, which is unpopular and antithetical to individual liberty.

Democrats go for it because it is supporting their side at the moment, though maybe also because it masks the fact that congress and the white house have been unable to work together on the most basic of their duties without one party holding a supermajority and the white house, which is a really bad look if anyone is looking.

[TJJ2000]

Deserves a repeat..

making the whole court look illegitimate is probably fine with a lot of the more progressive folks these days as they see the constitutional check on their actions as a hindrance to their agenda, which is unpopular and antithetical to individual liberty.

[VULGAR MADMAN]

Just say commie.

[Stuck in California]

But it isn't just "commie."

The foundation of the Progressive ideology is, specifically, to actively use the power of government to "help" people. It ain't commie, and they'll successfully argue that to people who aren't paying attention, or who are dumb enough to believe that more government fixes more problems.

People need to know that progressivism is decidedly illiberal. Its foundation is based on you being too dumb to make your own decisions, good daddy government should make them for you. And, if you are lucky enough and have made good decisions, so you have some money put away -- well, you're on the hook to help others. Even others who hate you.

Commies are different, but that's OK. They just hijack that shit and ride along. So do Socialists, who are very close to progressives, they just admit to wanting to own the means of production while progressives don't.

Progressives are a pernicious evil. Liberals should fucking HATE them. They should not exist in the same political party, nor should they be running things like a "free" press, because they are anti-freedom.

I know, nobody gives a shit about subtleties. But fuck does it bother me when people lump progressivism in with liberals, because they are different and I don't think folks understand how different or how evil their ideology is. So I'mma rant on the internet.

[VULGAR MADMAN]

So they’re the borg. I can deal with that too.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Great posts, SIC [you sound like you are perfectly capable of leaving that illiberal hell hole, by the way].

[Ride 'Em]

You are correct. Just look at what Biden is trying to do with inherited property, he wants to eliminate the stepped up basis of the property you inherit. That means that inheritance taxes will become ever larger as property is frozen in base value from whenever your parents purchased it. Inflation will really be governments friend.

[damikesc]

They're restoring norms fast and hard.

[Taito7]

Actually they are just asking the judges disclose gifts (pronounced bribes), like every other federal employee. Their wives are directly getting money from special interests and law firms that have business in front of the court and not disclosing it. Thomas was taking half million dollar vacations with a billionaire who has business in front of the court through his think tank every single session.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City that Outsourced Everything,"

You know what else governments have proven to be really good at "outsourcing" starting around 2015?

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Come on Reason - spend a few bucks and provide transcripts of your podcasts! Most of us can read a whole lot faster than it would take to listen to this whole blasted thing.

[VULGAR MADMAN]

Vanity is a thing.

[Flaco]

Go to the Youtube version, and click Show Transcript. It's not perfect, but it's something.

[Nardz]

https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/1655690329092403200?t=fzB_gQuTvz2aUFfgkg1IxA&s=19

#1 Look at the increase of news articles mentioning "white privilege," "systemic racism," "diversity and inclusion," and "unconscious bias."

How does the media's focus on identity politics and critical race theory contribute to the division and polarization of society?

#2 Look at the increase in the number of news articles mentioning "whiteness," "intersectionality," "critical race theory," and "diversity training."

#3 Look at the increase in the number of New York Times articles mentioning "discrimination," "social justice," "people of color," and "racism."

#4 Look at the increase in the number of New York Times articles mentioning "political correctness," "diversity," "police brutality," and "transgender."

[Graphs]

[creech]

Yeah, you should see the charts showing the increase in the number of times the word "Vietnam" increased from 1962 to 1970.

[Nardz]

Are you implying that widespread racism is as real as the Vietnam War, and that our media is just covering what's going on rather than pushing an agenda for the purpose of division and power?

[Ersatz]

the silence in response to your question was deafening

[creech]

No. I'm implying that something that becomes widely reported - whether news worthy or not - is naturally going to show spikes on a chart. Said spike doesn't mean said events or issues are of equal importance.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""Delegitimizing the Supreme Court""

Hey, it's the communist thing to do.

[VULGAR MADMAN]

Hey, nobody said restoring norms would be easy.

[perlmonger]

Lady in photo doesn't understand Constitution. News at... no wait, that's not news.

[TJJ2000]

I can't disagree.. The Supreme Court rulings have been a F'En joke since before FDR when they pretending a cherry-picked completely out of context "general welfare" clause could just trample all over the rest of the entire document. For crap sakes they don't even acknowledge the noun after "for the United States" which federalist and common-sense as being part of the taxing clause demonstrates it OBVIOUSLY meant to keep the federal government from going bankrupt.

Everyone who cares to learn anything knows this. Yet the so called 'experts' chose to completely re-write it. The people's SUPREME LAW over their government.

Liberals HATE the US Constitution and are treasonous traitors of the USA (i.e. enemies). That's expected. But ignoring both the 4th and 13th in Dobbs shows Conservatives are no better these days. Ironically protesting the very Conservative written Roe v Wade not even a 1/2 century ago.

Power-mad Nazi's have taken over the USA from D.C. and liberal fans of "armed-robbing" anyone they can get their greedy hands on. Gov-Guns **cannot** make shit. They can only be used to commit crimes of armed-robbery (which liberals love) because they're criminals at heart.

The nation will not survive continuous Al'Capone's (blatant crooks) as leaders of the free land. Yes; people are very angry... Why? Didn't Democracy put honesty and integrity into office? Why would anyone elect blatant liars and crooks to such important jobs?

Theirs only two possible answers. Either the people themselves are MAJORITY criminals -or- Elections are being robbed.

[MatthewSlyfield]

There are two problems of HOAs and the idea that they are based on unanimous consent.

The first is that after you've joined, they can change the rules, up to and including the governing charter of the HOA, with less than unanimous consent.

The second problem is, once you join, you can't quit without selling your house and moving.

[DesigNate]

The 3rd problem is that in a lot of jurisdictions, they’re mandated by the government so they aren’t even voluntarily for the first owners.

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[Liberty Lover]

Liberals Thinking– If a justice rules on the Constitution and by previous case law against what I believe that is an illegitimate justice and must be removed by any means possible, even if it is all lies. Only a Supreme Court Justice is legitimate is one that agrees with my views 100% of the time, no matter how unconstitutional my beliefs! Therefore we must over look Justices misdeeds if they agree with me!

[Quo Usque Tandem]

IOW, I want what I want and I want it NOW!

BAMN. Fuck any and everything thing else that stands in our way.

[Lester75]

Clarence Thomas isn't being railroaded. He thinks the gifts his sponsors made were not bribes because he thinks himself an uncorruptible god. Although anyone else accepting free tuition for his dependent or lavish vacations would be indebted to the donor and tainted, his godliness must be assumed pristine.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/17/clarence-thomas-investigation-fox-news-juan-williams

[Religion and Politics, my life]

Lester, it is clear you have 3 problems
the I am a Saint problem
The I know WHY Thomas did anything he did

and the clueless problem: What kind of guarddogs and truth-seekers didn't see this even though it supposedly went on for decades. When you pull out a dead rabbit around an angry dog it can be the dog's fault or the person with the rabbit. ....Is that a rabbit in your hand?

[sCuLLeRcRUsHEr]

Maybe asked answered. Has Clarence Thomas’s rulings been inconsistent with his judicial philosophy? If no,WHY DO WE CARE? This is where pundits on this and other podcast don’t ask the simple question. SO WHAT.
I don’t care what Thomas or others gain from their positions as Supreme Court justices. More power to them.
Get of your high horses and look a process and result. That’s all that matters.

[sCuLLeRcRUsHEr]

The more I dwell on this podcast, I’m wondering if there a single true libertarian in the podcast. You all sound like a bunch of obsessed leftist. No true libertarian would give a shit about what any Justice does outside of their job. IT IS NO ONES BUSINESS. so fuck all of you. Stop pretending to be libertarians.

[Religion and Politics, my life]

Maybe you don't understand why people don't like Libertarians --- It's because immorality is overlooked

[Taito7]

Thomas and his insane wife didn't start the fire, but they dumped gasoline on it. He knew he was supposed to announce those gifts, but caught backlash for the last one he admitted, so he just stopped reporting them. This would get you fired from any other job. Most simply, it shows bad judgement, which is kind of his whole job, to show good judgement.