They say they want a revolution

Republicans on the Supreme Court insist America's Declaration of Independence was wrongly decided

By now you’ve probably heard about Monday’s Republican Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump’s claims to be immune from prosecution for his various crimes, in which the Republican supermajority on the Court declared presidents — or, more to the point, Republican presidents — literally above and beyond the law, immune from prosecution for essentially anything they do.¹

No matter how bad you might think that is, I assure you it is worse.²

It is important to note how thoroughly made up this Supreme Court ruling is. Perhaps you’ve heard for years or even decades that conservative judges are “originalists” or “textualists.” That’s bullshit. It’s just a cover story Republicans (on and off the court) offer for their true philosophy, which is simple: We’re in charge, no matter what. That should have been obvious long ago, but just in case it wasn’t: Presidential immunity from criminal prosecution exists nowhere in the text of America’s founding documents, nowhere in America’s history and tradition. The Republicans on the Supreme Court just made it up.

Actually when I say John Roberts (R) and the rest of them made this up, I’m being generous. And I am certainly in no mood to be generous to this sleazy little cabal, so I should clarify that they didn’t really make up the concept of heads of state being above the law; they aren’t that creative. There are references to unaccountable tyrants in America’s founding documents — but those references reject the concept of a supreme ruler beyond the reach of the law. That’s because the “absolute ruler” model of government the Court proposes for Republican presidents is an ages-old concept that has been enjoyed by history’s worst dictators and tyrants. Roberts simply brought it to America.

Brought it back to America, I should say. We had a lawless and unaccountable leader once before, of course: the King of England, from which we declared our independence 248 years ago today.

We fought and won a revolution to get out from under a king and establish a republic based on the principle that all are equal under the law. We’ve never come particularly close to living up to that ideal, but since our founding we’ve moved towards it. Not consistently towards it, certainly not always towards it, but overall we’ve gotten much closer. Too close for Donald Trump and the Republicans who control the Supreme Court, half of whom were appointed by Trump after he got fewer votes than his opponent in 2016 but before he got fewer votes than his opponent in 2020.

The principles that led to the American Revolution, that are articulated in the Declaration of Independence whose anniversary we celebrate today, and that served as the American ideal for centuries — that all are equal under the law, that we all have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that a government’s legitimacy is derived from the consent of the governed —would surely hold sway over an actual originalist, but keep in mind originalism has always been bullshit, and the Republican Party’s true philosophy is We rule.

So the Republican Supreme Court gave future Republican presidents virtually unlimited power, just as it has seized for itself virtually unlimited power to prevent Democratic presidents from governing. It has invited Donald Trump, should he attain the White House, to follow through on his threats to use the full power of the government to seek vengeance against his political opponents, even jailing them — or worse. After all, Trump’s Enemies List and that of the Republican justices overlap significantly, and not just the political leaders: It isn’t hard to imagine Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas cheering Trump on as he locks up the journalists who have exposed their flagrant corruption and apparent support for the January 6 insurrectionists. Not to mention Brett Kavanaugh, who famously threatened Democrats who opposed his confirmation: “What goes around, comes around.”

Here’s how the president of the Heritage Foundation reacted to the Republican Supreme Court’s endorsement of Republican monarchy:

The Heritage Foundation has been the preeminent conservative policy and lobbying shop in America for a half century, and is leading the Project 2025 planning for a second Trump administration. These aren’t random internet trolls. And the day after the Republicans on the Supreme Court gave a future President Trump (who as president repeatedly wanted to order the military to shoot Americans in the street but was told it would be illegal) blanket legal immunity, the president of the organization leading the planning for a second Trump administration warned that if people oppose their “second revolution,” there will be bloodshed.³

America’s first revolution was against a king. Republicans want a second revolution to install one. They are threatening violence if they don’t get their way.

Defeating them in November won’t be enough. Those opposed to America’s founding ideals have never stopped fighting them, and they aren’t going to stop now. But defeating Trump and the Republican Party in November is an absolutely essential first step, and one every American who today celebrates America’s Declaration of Independence has a stake in — and responsibility for.

1. The GOP supermajority on the Supreme Court won’t let the Biden administration administer college loans or regulate the chemicals in drinking water. Anyone thinking they’re gonna let Democratic presidents enjoy the legal immunity from criminal prosecution they just gave Trump is absolutely delusional. Not that Biden or any other plausible Democratic president would use the completely illegitimate power the Court just gave him (Biden immediately went on-camera to renounce it.) Which, of course, is one reason the Republicans on the Court felt comfortable issuing this ruling during a Democratic presidency.

2. Do not listen to those who downplay this. They have been wrong about everything that matters, and always by downplaying the threat posed by the Republicans Party and the conservative movement.

3. Roberts issued this threat on Steve Bannon’s right-wing talk show, though Bannon wasn’t there to hear them because the longtime Trump advisor was busy reporting to prison for his own crimes.