podhorzer

@podhorzer@threads.net

Former political director of the AFL-CIO. Senior Fellow at CAP.

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podhorzer, to random

It's no coincidence that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag Alito flew is both a symbol of January 6th and of Christian nationalism. It’s no coincidence that Mike Johnson displayed the same flag outside his office.

I wrote here about how the Christian nationalist movement, allied with MAGA, has hijacked the Republican Party: https://www.weekendreading.net/p/hiding-in-plain-sight-the-sources

podhorzer,

Alito and Johnson pledge allegiance to the same flag, and the theocratic republic for which it stands. Neither has rejected the insurrectionists, and both have done all they can to shield Trump from accountability – whether it’s Alito continuously ruling in Trump’s favor since November 2020, or Mike Johnson standing in solidarity with Trump at the New York court house.

podhorzer, to random

Alito and Thomas have made clear their insurrectionist connections. So why are we debating whether Alito should recuse himself, instead of demanding Roberts dismiss Trump’s immunity appeal so the J6 trial can begin immediately? (It’s called “dismissed as improvidently granted”—when a court recognizes that they never should have taken up a case in the first place.)

podhorzer,

It’s long past time we acknowledge and reckon with the following:

  1. But for Alito and his similarly conflicted fellow justices, Donald Trump would almost certainly be a convicted felon for J6 by now.

The only legitimate move for the Court to make on the immunity case now would be dismissing it as improvidently granted.

podhorzer, to random

I agree with @nycscribe that the @nytimes shouldn't put a thumb on the scale for Biden.

I’d be satisfied if Kahn edited the Times as if he believed his own paper’s groundbreaking stories about Trump's plans were both true and important.

https://www.weekendreading.net/p/does-joe-kahn-trust-the-new-york

podhorzer, to random

It’s often said that the rising income inequality in the US reflects worldwide trends due to globalization.

But when we compare the US with Western Europe—where unions have not suffered the same erosion—we see a different story.

We see why attacks on unions hurt all of us. 🧵

podhorzer,

In 1980, the shares of pre-tax national income in the US and Western Europe held by the bottom 50% vs top 1% were similar.

Since, these shares have changed slightly in Europe, but in the US the share held by the top 1% has radically increased, at the expense of the bottom 50%.

podhorzer,

Indeed, while there has been some erosion in the relative shares of income held by the two groups in Western Europe, in the US, the relationship has reversed—with the top 1% holding 5% more pre-tax income than the bottom 50%, compared to 1980, when the bottom 50% held 10% more.

podhorzer,

Now looking at wealth: the wealth gap between the two groups was smaller in Europe than in the US in 1995, and this gap widened more since in the US. In the last 30 years, the bottom half of the wealth distribution in the US hasn’t gained any wealth, and was often in debt.

podhorzer,

Attacks on US unions by corporations and their political allies have played an essential role in this divergence. The chart below shows how the adoption of the Wagner Act in 1935 rapidly ameliorated inequality, and how that inequality has returned as unions have been eroded.

podhorzer, to random

While we focus on what SCOTUS means for Trump, we forget what Trump means for SCOTUS. If he wins, he could replace Thomas, Alito, and 40+ federal judges over 75 with young zealots.

Trump is the means to the end of an ongoing Federalist Society coup. That coup, in charts: 🧵

podhorzer,

Since George W. Bush, the Federalist Society’s approval has been a prerequisite for any Republican SCOTUS nominee.

The result? More polarizing nominees, confirmed by senators representing fewer and fewer Americans.

First, here’s the average Senate confirmation vote over time:

podhorzer,

Support for SCOTUS justices was almost perfectly bipartisan until 2006. Since then, justices nominated by Democratic presidents have still had much higher support than the GOP’s Federalist Society nominees.

podhorzer,

These bare-majority Senate confirmation votes = a minority of Americans are represented.

Out of 116 people confirmed to the Supreme Court, only five were confirmed by senators representing less than half the US population: Alito, Thomas, Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh.

podhorzer,

Federalist Society justices have abandoned previous norms of seeking consensus before overturning major precedents, especially when it comes to civil rights.

In this chart, blue bars = decisions with 7+ votes, red bars = 5-4 decisions.

podhorzer,

Some dramatic results of the Federalist Society’s radical policy changes from the bench:

Campaign spending explodes after Citizens United.

podhorzer,

After Shelby County guts the VRA, the “cost” of voting in time/money gets much higher in Red states even as it plummets in Blue states.

podhorzer,

With the help of gerrymandering rulings by Federalist Society SCOTUS majorities, one-party rule returns to the South, almost rivaling the Jim Crow era.

(Top half legislature + governor, bottom half just legislature. White = party split, blue/red = unified D/R party control.)

podhorzer,

It shouldn't surprise us, then, that public confidence in the Supreme Court as an institution has collapsed. (first chart)

But not among Republicans—they’re thrilled, even during a Democratic presidency. (Check out the total blue/red reversal under Biden in the second chart.)

podhorzer,

We must acknowledge that the Federalist Society is waging a war for America’s constitutional order—and Trump’s immunity case at SCOTUS could be the last battle, if the J6 trial delay helps him win in November.

More in my new post here: https://www.weekendreading.net/p/breaking-the-law-trump-is-the-means

podhorzer, to random

If the justices (belatedly) do their duty and rule quickly, a J6 trial can still wrap by late October. (Timelines here: https://www.justsecurity.org/92965/when-special-counsel-smiths-january-6th-trial-will-reach-a-verdict-analyzing-the-alternative-timelines/)

If that happens, media must not indulge in hand-wringing about whether the trial is "too political" to continue. SCOTUS has put us in this position, but justice must still be done.

https://www.justsecurity.org/92965/when-special-counsel-smiths-january-6th-trial-will-reach-a-verdict-analyzing-the-alternative-timelines/

podhorzer, to random

This morning’s lively oral arguments risk obscuring what should be the only story—that there was no justification for the Court hearing this appeal other than postponing the trial.

JusticeCantWait

https://www.weekendreading.net/p/justice-cant-wait

podhorzer,

Indeed Justice Roberts famously said, "If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case, then it is necessary not to decide more."

Remember that had they not taken the appeal, we would now be eight weeks into the trial, and nearing a verdict.

podhorzer,

The Court’s actions are even more egregiously anti-democratic than Bush v. Gore. In that case, the country was in crisis, with no consensus about what to do next. In this instance, the justices have created a crisis where none existed.

podhorzer,

For the six Federalist Society-affiliated SCOTUS justices, helping Trump is incidental to the broader goal.

A second Trump term would seal a victory for the Federalist Society movement for a generation—not just at SCOTUS but throughout the federal judiciary.

podhorzer,

In 2028, Thomas will be 80 and Alito 78, and Sotomayor is in ill health, meaning that a second Trump term could leave the Court 7-2, with Roberts (68) the only one over 60, while a Biden/Democratic Senate could actually leave the Court 5-4 the other way.

These are the stakes.

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