The irony of a jubilant Fourth of July parade I attended with my kids last week — with marching bands, people in costume, and colorful floats — is that the U.S. government has never been more chaotic. The fragility of our democracy has been thrown into sharp relief over the past few months with a partisan Supreme Court placing a heavy finger on rightward leaning scales and the great unknown of November elections. The legislative branch of government, with all its foibles, then becomes the most secure path forward for those of us who like to breathe air, drink water, and not overheat.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo on June 27 overturning what’s known as “Chevron deference ” prioritizes business interests over public health in a decision that weakens the ability of agencies to enforce regulations, such as restricting power plant pollution. It says that agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are actually not the experts in environmental […]
The author badly mischaracterizes this decision. The fact of the matter is that the unelected bureaucracy has over-reached its authority. The Bureaucratic response to COVID is the most recent case in point. Yes, the Judiciary has assumed more power but only because we have had sets of Congresses going back decades which have failed to act. The Congress is fundamentally non-representative. This is our problem. The Chevron decision exposes the dirty secrets that members of Congress have been happy to hide – throwing their hands up in impotence – “It’s not my fault it’s ______ decision”. And so members of Congress are insulated, but no more. It is you dear reader who have to demand a representative Congress, and it won’t be easy as they have long been bought off. If you don’t have a representative Congress then you don’t have a representative Republic. The Supreme Court, as corrupt as they may be, have pull back the curtain on the little men ( and women ) pulling the levers.