By Dr. Harold A. Black
blackh@knoxfocus.com
haroldblackphd.com
The left has always loved the judiciary making policy that fail to make it through the legislature. However, when the Supreme Court stopped making policy and started enforcing the law, the left cried foul. Three recent rulings drew its ire: the overturning of Roe, the ruling on the Second Amendment and the ruling on the overstepping of the EPA. In all of these cases, the left lost its mind – but more so on Roe. Maxine Waters (D-CA) truly earned the title of “Mad Max” when she proclaimed, “The hell with the Supreme Court. We will defy them.” AOC called the court “illegitimate” and urged people to take to the streets. Tim Ryan (D-OH) who is running for the Senate said, “Today’s disastrous decision is the largest case of government overreach in my lifetime.” Ryan obviously has a short memory because Roe was the “largest case of overreach” in my lifetime. Twenty black congresswomen asked Biden to declare a national health emergency. Apparently, they wanted to continue the trend in New York City where the number of abortions exceed the number of live births. And the president proclaimed “With this decision a conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is, how far removed from the majority of the country. They made the United States an outlier among developed nations or the world, but this decision must not be the final word. “Of course, as usual Biden was wrong. The US was an outlier with Roe being more permissive than countries other than China and North Korea. The decision was not “far removed from the majority of the country”. Biden went further when he said, “We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court working in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy,” With Biden joining the chorus of those on the left opposing the decision, so much for the rule of law. That Biden is sounding like a member of the Squad demeans the office of the president and may be the first time that a sitting president has openly opposed a ruling of the Supreme Court using language of open defiance.
What was interesting was that all of us knew the ruling was coming given its leak a month before. Therefore, it was confusing to me to see all the protests after the decision was announced. The protestors could not change the ruling and they only made fools of themselves at the homes of the justices and yelling in the streets of our cities. Elizabeth Warren acted as if she was going to have a heart attack and she and others proclaimed the Court as “illegitimate.” Some, like Biden, have claimed that the Court is the minority overriding the majority. AOC has argued that the justices were appointed by a president who did not win a majority of the votes in the presidential election and as such were illegitimate. Of course, she ignores the fact that the United States is a republic and not a democracy. She was perfectly content when the justices of a previous court enacted policy that she favored. The left may be wrong in claiming that the majority of Americans opposes the Supreme Court decision. Most Americans would likely agree that the legislation rests with the states rather than the federal government. I find it amusing that the same crowd that wants the federal government to make abortion legal without restrictions also favors the federal government mandating vaccinations for COVID.
There are 26 states which had in place legislation to curb abortion once Roe was overturned. Twenty-six is a majority – not a minority – of the states. Most Americans, the polls tell us favor early-term abortions – prior to fetal viability – and most states will have similar laws.
The left conveniently forgets that a republic is not governed by a supermajority. Rather it is governed by a majority of the majorities. Currently, there are 30 republican controlled state legislatures and only 17 democratic ones. Three are split. There are 28 Republican governors and 22 democratic ones. Does that sound like a minority to you? The Democrats, because of California and New York, may be in the majority but they are the minority party in the majority of the states. California and New York do not dictate policy for the entire country. Thank goodness.
