There’s a theory floating around that opinions of judges appointed by Donald Trump could potentially boomerang on the MAGA movement. These decisions, much like a bad case of indigestion, reveal its true reactionary face.
Kacsmaryk’s opinion reads like a legal take on a game of Twister, filled with contempt for the law, fact-fudging, and language that would make you think you were at a MAGA hoedown instead of a courtroom. He twisted himself into knots trying to ignore the statute of limitations and trash any semblance of “standing.”
Kacsmaryk’s reasoning would not only break the space-time continuum, but it would pretty much make the standing requirement for lawsuits against drug approvals disappear in a puff of smoke. He conjured up his own special exception, like a bad magician with a wonky wand.
In a desperate attempt to find any rationale for his magical thinking, the judge dug deep into the historical archives and resuscitated the long-dead 1873 “anti-vice” Comstock Act. He’s like a mad scientist trying to recreate a Frankenstein monster with old laws and outdated ideas.
Kacsmaryk’s ruling is sprinkled with “scientifically baseless” assertions and hostility to abortion, says constitutional scholar Kate Shaw. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists described the decision as “inflammatory” and “brazen.” It’s like someone setting a fire and then pouring gasoline on it, just for kicks.
But that’s not the only spice Kacsmaryk added to his legal gumbo; he ditched any attempt to appear impartial by using language that made it sound like he was rallying the anti-abortion troops. He filled his decision with terms like “unborn human,” “fetal personhood,” and a laundry list of negative emotions that can come after an abortion.
Considering all this, Republicans might want to stop and ask themselves if the right-wing judiciary is really an asset, or more like a ticking time bomb for the MAGA movement. Sure, they might love the sound of Trump-appointed judges banging their gavel, but once those decisions start affecting the general public, it just might kick off a fierce backlash. This could fuel a determined and powerful counter-movement that refuses to turn back the clock on decades of social progress.
Recent events like the disappointing 2022 midterms, progressive victories in key state races, and increasing support for abortion rights seem to suggest that conservatives have won the game of thrones by stacking the courts with their allies, but they might be losing the hearts and minds of the public.
As the Supreme Court dives headfirst into controversial battles against public opinion on issues like abortion, guns, and voting rights, it could potentially unite a growing progressive opposition that would make them quake in their lofty seats of power.
Mulling over the current Supreme Court’s adventures in time travel, Ronald Brownstein in the Atlantic sees echoes of history. When faced with previous Supreme Court attempts to maintain an outdated status quo, the nation ultimately underwent transformational change. Could the modern course of legal radicalism lead to a similar outcome?
Responding to the thumb-on-the-scale tactics of radically conservative judges could lead to calls for measures like expanding the Supreme Court, limiting its terms, or stripping away its jurisdiction. Even support for progressive state judicial candidates who promise to counterbalance the right-wing influence in the courts could be on the horizon as a result.
Republicans can’t exactly tell their appointees to chill out or control the potential backlash from their decisions, like trying to rein in a wild stallion after it’s escaped the barn. The biggest irony of all may be that the MAGA movement’s beloved judicial victories turn out to be the Trojan horse that brings about its own defeat, and the judiciary itself could end up the battered and bruised hostage of the power struggle.
