The Liberal Pollyanna Problem
There Aren't Any Judges To Rule The Right Out Of Bounds
A judge appointed by Donald Trump has decided to interfere in the ongoing federal investigation of Trump by granting his request for a “special master” to review the classified documents he stole. The ruling was greeted by a chorus of boos, from people who understand how the legal system is supposed to work.
Judge Aileen Cannon is doing precisely what Trump and the conservative movement intended her to do when they put her on the federal bench. It is the same thing we have seen from conservative judges all the way up to the Supreme Court, like when that court carved out a special exception to essentially hand the presidency to George W. Bush. Conservative judges know they have been empowered to enact rulings that advance conservative causes, not merely to call balls and strikes based on an apolitical, nonpartisan rulebook.
But the tooth-gnashing over the Cannon ruling from liberals seems to be another episode of liberalism not getting this fact about modern politics. I believe it stems from a Pollyanna approach to modern politics that is spectacularly ill-prepared to handle the onslaught of fascism that is the conservative movement and its Republican Party.
We saw it throughout Trump’s presidency. And we’ve seen it over and over through the years, when the right is in power and out of power. They use the levers of power to enact what they care about, damn the precedent. They install hardcore political operatives in positions that on the surface seem as apolitical as can be — leading the post office for instance — and those actors work hard to give conservatives the outcomes they want.
But the truly galling thing is the liberal response to these violations. It is in fact a small-c conservative response.
Liberal leaders often believe that the best response to conservative offenses is to cite the rule book. The rule book in this case being the actual law, traditional norms, or the accepted, decent thing to do.
On paper, this might make some sense. If someone goes out of bounds, the thought process goes, they must be called out for doing so and through the power of public shame and decorum, they will relent and roll back their behavior. That’s how it’s supposed to work!
But what this well-meaning mindset doesn’t take into account is the fact that conservatism doesn’t give a damn about shame or decorum. They do not care. They have the mindset of a combatant in a war that is more than willing to commit war crimes if it means they emerge as the victor. Nothing is out of bounds. Ever.
The conservative movement is one that years ago embraced torture, touted a war while describing liberal opponents as terrorist sympathizers, demonizes the LGBTQ community, Muslims, Asians, Blacks, Latinos to gain political advantage. For conservatives today, making up stories that Democrats support abortion up to the moment of birth isn’t merely a fringe accusation — it is a bedrock right-wing principle. It didn’t start with Donald Trump, but there is a line of self-righteous norm-breaking that goes back through figures like Mitt Romney, John McCain, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and thousands of others.
You cannot defeat this onslaught by pointing to a rulebook, adjusting your glasses, and asserting “well, actually, that’s against the rules.”
The rules exist and they matter for the sake of reality, but when it comes to raw American politics, they have to be considered as mere suggestions for where things ought to be.
The rules and regulations cannot, on their own, collectively lead us to solutions. They require political muscle and will to give them some weight and heft.
A federal judgeship packed with conservative activists from Trump and Bush cannot merely be reigned in by shame. That is a path destined for complete failure. The right recognized long ago that control of the courts over the long term enables conservative policymakers in the executive and legislative branches to make unworkable right-wing policy the law of the land.
When it comes to the courts, liberals must act in kind. They must wage political war and utilize the tools voters have given them to counter the fascist onslaught. They must throw out reservations about norms and how things are supposed to be and accept that this is how they truly are. That means practical policies like throwing out the filibuster, packing the courts, doing whatever it takes to counteract years of conservative abuse of what we wrongly assumed was a politically neutral system.
But it isn’t just about the courts. This has to be a mindset that permeates all politics. It is good when Democratic leaders like President Biden call out the right’s support of fascism. They should do so frequently and loudly because it has a very real effect on public opinion.
There needs to be more though. Callouts have to be followed by action that follows the severity of the rhetoric. If the right is truly a threat to our democratic way of life, it is long past time for liberalism to act like it. That means prosecutions for breaking the law, who cares if its a former president or close to election season. That means enacting laws specifically to address abuses of power we have all witnessed, enacting laws requiring the disclosure of conflicts of interest instead of relying on norms and traditions for disclosure (we still have not seen Trump’s tax returns, still!).
It means a full-on embrace of the power granted by the governed to fight for what is right. Thus far, Democratic leaders have tended to rest on their laurels, viewing favorable election results as a validation of their approach.
Trump was defeated, so in their minds the system worked. But Republicans viewed that defeat as a green light to upend the entire system. They are working to install election officials whose only mandate is to hand every election to the Republican Party. You can cite every rule that you like, but when the person appointed to enforce the rules doesn’t care, the rules don’t matter.
This is an odious opponent that cannot be defeated through rhetoric alone. Action must accompany speech, or else it is just a waste of time.
Biden has rightfully said this is an ongoing “battle for the soul of America.” It is time through laws, regulation, and executive action to armor up and change this process from its current state as a woefully lopsided affair favoring fascism.
— Oliver
Follow me, Oliver Willis, on Twitter @owillis
Exclusive Kal-El Photo
Over the weekend we puppysat my friend’s shih tzu, Nori. It was the first time Kal has been around another dog for an extended period of time, and while the much younger Nori sometimes got on his nerves, I think it was an overall good experience for him. It was kind of cool having more than one little dog around the house.
Yep. I'm on board. Started getting involved with my local democrat group and it feels good to be taking action! Of course there is more to be done, but I'm connecting with doers and active plans to counteract the right and act more in our favor, in democracies favor. I helped with a commercial that was not pollyanna at all, calling out the right, which was kind of new for me, but it's time. Past time. Great blog.
This is the way