Threats to democracy come from within our system

In perhaps the most blatant attempt to replace what most Americans think representative democracy is with an autocracy that grows from raw power, the Supreme Court heard arguments today from North Carolina that asks the already disgraced court to choose power.

Here are the first three grafs of the Washington Post report on this:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday began debating whether state legislators have the power to set federal voting rules without oversight from state courts, in what would be a fundamental change in the way elections are conducted.

If the justices side with North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders, state lawmakers throughout the country could have exclusive authority to structure federal elections, subject only to intervention by Congress, even if their actions result in extreme partisan voting maps for congressional seats – and violate voter protections enshrined in state constitutions. The case could have a major impact on the 2024 election.

Republican leaders in North Carolina want the Supreme Court to restore a redistricting map that was drawn by the GOP-led legislature but rejected as a violation of the state constitution by the state’s supreme court. The state Republican leaders are asking the justices to embrace the “independent state legislature theory,” which could end oversight by state courts enforcing the state constitution and put at risk citizen-backed initiatives aimed at taking partisan politics out of map-drawing and election rules.

I assume most Americans are blissfully unaware of this case, and I am certainly not an expert on it. But it appears that the goal of the Angry White People Party is to create a system in which there are no "fair play" rules in the hopes of cementing minority rule for the foreseeable future. Courts? Who cares? Voters? Irrelevant. Basic justice? What is that?

I suppose Democrats could apply the same theory to the states they currently control (like Colorado), but blue states tend to adapt less partisan political processes (being the party of reason, after all). So equal actions from the "other side" are unlikely.

Imagine the Supreme Court upending our entire election system, mostly on a whim. If you can't imagine this, BTW, you haven't been paying attention to the past couple years. 

The court's abortion ruling certainly damaged its reputation with a majority of the country, but choosing power over democracy and basic fairness would be the final nail. At this point, the court's reputation may be beyond repair.

This case is unnecessary, much as Herschel Walker's doomed candidacy for Georgia senator was, but at this point in our history most of us are left to hold our collective breath in hopes for a reasonable choice. Choosing a rational human being (Senator Warnock) over a poor soul with obvious brain damage from years of football shouldn't have come down to a 51-49 split among voters, but I will take any margin of victory over the powers of ignorance.

Guess I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that even the radical conservatives on the Supreme Court will find a way to maintain the nation's election traditions and rebuff those who wish to govern through raw power.

Hey, the country had a good run.