So, Justice Steven Breyer is retiring.  Let’s hope that President Biden’s nominee, whomever he/she may be, isn’t subjected to the degrading, humiliating spectacle (degrading and humiliating to the Senate, that is) that President Trump’s nominees had to endure.  I don’t think I’m going out on a limb making the prediction that won’t happen.  However, I do note that Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that Biden “stands by” his commitment to nominate a black woman to the court. 

Now, not to disparage the many black attorneys and judges who are undoubtedly competent and qualified for the job, I thought that, for such an important position, the job of the President was to nominate the most qualified person, regardless of sex, race or any other extraneous factor.

Silly me.  The Democrats continue their long march backwards to the racialist, if not outright racist, attitudes and policies they espoused in the years before the Civil War.  Speaking of degrading and humiliating:  How would you like to be the person to whom the President will say, “You are the best black woman we could find for the job”?

If you don’t see why that’s a problem, look in the mirror and ask yourself, who’s the racist here?

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The pieces of the 2022 mid-term elections are beginning to fall into place.  One piece that fell out of place is Tennessee’s Congressman Jim Cooper, who has decided to retire after his safe, blue district – basically Nashville’s Davidson County – was turned into a more-purple district.  Now, I don’t care to comment on the fairness of this particular situation; redistricting is a political exercise, and the party in power draws the map pretty much as it pleases.  Sometimes that works to one party’s advantage, sometimes to the other, but neither party can resist the opportunity to help itself to its winnings, nor does anyone with the slightest understanding of human nature expect anything else.  One man’s gerrymander is just another man’s new district, and all parties will have plenty of reason to be both aggrieved and amused by their opponent’s aggrievement.

But Congressman Cooper’s aggrievement is only possible because Tennessee is getting more and more Republican all the time as the Democrats move farther and farther to the left.  Absent a stunning reversal at the national level, it’s hard to see where that ends. He may not have moved, but his party has, and it has cut the ground from under his feet.  As a person convinced that a loyal opposition is absolutely essential for good government, I deplore that fact.  The Democrats seem determined to turn the party over to the lunatic left, as the Labour Party in Great Britain did with devastating results.  But if the Democrats insist on doing it, OK, it’s their funeral.  About all we can do is wish Rep. Cooper all the best in his new endeavors, whatever they may be, and congratulate the new Republican congressman who, surprised by his luck, will take Cooper’s place.

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And speaking of 2022, the predictions for the election should be sobering to the Democrats.  I am seeing estimates of a 40, 50 even 60-seat swing in the House, and a swing in the Senate of perhaps 4 seats, maybe 1 or 2 more – a tidal wave of disapproval for the way the Democrats have been trying to rule the country.

If anything proves the wisdom of the filibuster, this is it.  The Democrats have been doing their dead-level best to use a razor-thin majority to ram through legislation that the country clearly doesn’t want.  As hard as it is to pass legislation, it’s almost impossible to repeal it, so once a law is in place, it might as well be permanent.  Until the voters have the chance to render their verdict at the next election, the only thing standing between a bad bill and the nation is the filibuster.

One of the most important and widespread misunderstandings about the U.S. system of governance is that it is a democracy.  It isn’t.  We are a republic with democratically-chosen representatives.  The Founders firmly believed that the authority to govern originates in the people, but they had a thorough understanding of human nature, too, with all its flaws, fallibility and weakness to the passions of the moment.  The Constitution is deliberately designed to foil the tyranny of the majority and insure, as best as humanly possible, that law and governing practice conform not to the will of a bare majority, but to the will of a vast majority.

The Democrats are going to learn that once again in November, 2022.  A shame that all political parties have to learn it repeatedly; in their arrogance and pride, the lesson never sticks.  

Kenneth D. Gough © 2022