John Roberts is running up a record that puts him in contention with these moneys as the worst Chief Justice in history:
Roger Taney (1836-1864)- a racist scumbag, pro-slavery fanatic and Confederate sympathizer (His Dred Scott decision is considered the worst SCOTUS ruling ever)
Morrison Waite (1874-1888)- corporate personhood, anti-civil rights
Melville Fuller (1888-1910)- anti-union/pro-business fanatic (best known for Plessy v. Ferguson, which entrenched systemic racism for decades)
Edward White (1910-1921)- another overtly racist and anti-union pig
William Rehnquist (1986-2005)- weakened the Voting Rights Act, played the pivotal role in stealing the 2000 election from Al Gore and handing it to George Bush based solely on his own far right politics
Roberts' legacy as Chief Justice is already putrid and far from over. In Shelby County v. Holder he gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, leading to increased voter suppression efforts. Citizens United v FEC put the U.S. electoral system up for sale and entrenched plutocracy into the system. Janus v AFSCME ruled that public sector unions cannot collect fees from non-union members, a decision that weakened the financial stability of unions and was seen as an attack on labor rights. Two years ago the Roberts Court restricted the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a decision criticized for hampering efforts to combat climate change. And he helped overturn Roe v Wade, for which he will always be reviled. Last week, by overturning the Chevron doctrine, he further weakened the country’s regulatory agencies, rewarding the billionaires who have been bribing some the members of the Court. And in yesterday’s decision he granted former presidents absolute immunity for official acts, in effect grievously harming democracy itself and destroying whatever was left of the legitimacy the Court still retained.
There’s been a great deal of outrage towards the 6 uber-partisan right-wing Supreme Court justices of late, particularly the ones— Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito— who have been caught covertly taking bribes. Their rulings over the last few days, favoring the overt interests of the bribers, haven’t calmed anyone down. But aside from raging against them, what is it that anyone can do? Yesterday, AOC tweeted one plan: articles of impeachment, presumably against Thomas and Alito, but— who knows— maybe against the whole bunch who granted Trump absolute immunity for his attempted coup.
If you were in Congress, would you sign on as a co-sponsor to her resolution? I would— even realizing that impeaching a few justices will address symptoms of corruption but not the underlying structures that enable that kind of corruption. Let’s face it, the entire judicial system, shaped by capitalist and corporate interests, needs a thorough overhaul. Beyond focusing solely on impeachment, we are desperately in need of comprehensive judicial reforms, including the end of lifetime judgeships, more stringent— and enforceable— ethics rules, as well as other mechanisms for actual accountability and transparency.
Impeachment his a good way to get a national conversation going but, let’s face it, not only is a lengthy and politically charged process, there’s not a chance that a conservative-majority House is going to give us the results we’re looking for. There are no Republicans that would vote to impeach them and I suspect there are many Democraps who would oppose it. I expect that AOC plans to harness the energy and resources of this action to use for grassroots organizing and building a popular movement to put pressure on the judiciary and on Congress.
I don’t doubt that AOC is aware that there’s always a risk that impeachment efforts will galvanize the right, further entrenching their support for the MAGA justices, possibly— if not handled carefully— even undermining broader efforts to build a more progressive political consensus. Today she told her followers that “Last month, it was revealed that the Supreme Court received nearly $5 million in luxury gifts— $4.2 million of which was gifted solely to Clarence Thomas by MAGA megadonors. Just days ago, SCOTUS severely restricted the regulatory powers of federal agencies by overturning a legal precedent known as ‘Chevron deference.’ And this morning, SCOTUS ruled that Donald Trump has ‘absolute immunity’ from prosecution for crimes he committed while he was President of the United States. The Supreme Court is in a legitimacy crisis. This Court is setting the stage for a Trump presidency above the law. If Congress fails to hold them accountable, it sends a dangerous signal to the special interests trying to buy them off that their actions are fair game.”
This year we found exactly one candidate to support in Ohio— Jerrad Christian. Today he told us that “We need to seriously consider impeaching Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The revelations about his undisclosed luxury trips and financial perks from Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow are deeply concerning. This behavior is unethical and it might break federal law. When a Supreme Court justice acts this way, it undermines trust in our judicial system, which relies on transparency and integrity. If we can't hold our highest court to strict ethical standards, it says a lot about accountability in our government and the times in which we live. Thomas’s failure to recuse himself from cases where he had clear conflicts of interest, such as during the 2020 election, adds to the problem. His involvement in these cases, despite his wife's efforts to overturn the election results, shows a lack of impartiality. His pattern of behavior threatens the integrity of the Supreme Court. Though impeachment may seem drastic, but it's a necessary step to restore faith in our courts and ensure that justice remains unbiased and fair. They may have given the President carte blanche, but they haven't made themselves immune to prosecution.”