By Caving To Chuck Schumer, SCOTUS Only Incentivizes More Attacks
Supreme Court’s Code of Ethics: A Cynical Ploy to Destroy Legitimacy
After the Supreme Court announced its implementation of a code of ethics this week, Chuck Schumer dismissed it as merely “an important first step.” But let’s be honest, this is just the beginning of a relentless campaign to undermine the court’s credibility. And everyone, except the most naive partisan, knows exactly what’s going on.
The Supreme Court claims that the new code is necessary to address the public’s “misunderstanding” of the justices’ ethical obligations. But there is no misunderstanding. This is a well-coordinated partisan scheme aimed at destroying the court’s legitimacy.
It all starts with wealthy anti-court groups conjuring flimsy accusations that crumble under scrutiny. These accusations are then peddled to accommodating partisan outlets, some of which are already on the payroll, creating the illusion of widespread reporting. The media then amplifies these baseless claims with verbose pseudojournalism and polished production.
But beneath the veneer of professionalism, each new story is more absurd than the last. Clarence Thomas is criticized for vacationing with wealthy friends, sharing meals with former clerks, having a wife with her own opinions, and belonging to an organization that provides scholarships to underprivileged students. All the originalist justices have been targeted, but Thomas, in particular, faces a special disdain for daring to defy the left’s racial stereotypes and showing contempt for a media that has been trying to destroy him for decades.
However, none of these stories come close to demonstrating any conflict of interest. None show Thomas or any other justice deviating from their long-held judicial philosophy for personal gain.
But for the contemporary left, which demands the court bend to their partisan impulses rather than the law, the real problem lies in the consistency of originalists. Just recall Chuck Schumer’s threatening rhetoric towards two sitting justices during a pro-abortion protest in front of the Supreme Court. The same people who condemn any perceived attack on judges by Donald Trump were perfectly fine with Schumer’s menacing words, actively contributing to the erosion of the court’s reputation and legitimacy.
Schumer has no constitutional power to dictate the court’s ethics policy, just as the court has no authority to dictate Senate rules. It doesn’t matter what Schumer thinks is a good start or not. Justices are granted lifetime appointments precisely to ensure their independence. Chief Justice Roberts should have firmly rejected Schumer’s demands. Instead, he succumbed to bullying, revealing his unhealthy deference to politicians.
Now, the rest of the media will seize on the opportunity to report on a Supreme Court supposedly “embroiled in an ethics scandal,” further damaging an institution they have spent years undermining with deceitful activism. Crooked senators like Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse will exploit this situation to push their own agendas, claiming that “something needs to be done.”
All Chief Justice Roberts has achieved is creating the perception that justices have acted dishonorably. This will only incentivize more hit pieces and more demands from Democrats. The only thing Democrats see now is a judicial branch that can be bullied.
About the Author
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist, a nationally syndicated columnist, a Happy Warrior columnist at National Review, and author of five books—the most recent, Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent. Follow him on Twitter, @davidharsanyi.
What tactics do anti-court groups and partisan media outlets use to propagate baseless accusations against conservative justices and create an illusion of widespread reporting and public outcry
And integrity of conservative justices. To achieve their goal of undermining the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, left-wing activists and their media allies create a false narrative that portrays these justices as corrupt and motivated by personal interests.
The Supreme Court’s new code of ethics is just another tool in this cynical ploy. By presenting it as a necessary measure to address public misunderstanding, the left disguises its true intention of tarnishing the reputation of conservative justices. They want to paint a picture of a corrupted court that cannot be trusted to uphold the law impartially.
The strategy begins with wealthy anti-court groups manufacturing flimsy accusations against conservative justices. These accusations, lacking any substance, are then propagated by partisan media outlets that willingly play along with the scheme. The aim is to create an illusion of widespread reporting and public outcry.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these accusations are baseless and without merit. Critics attack Clarence Thomas for innocuous actions such as vacationing with wealthy friends or belonging to organizations that provide scholarships to underprivileged students. The true motivation behind these attacks lies in Thomas’s refusal to conform to the left’s racial stereotypes and his disdain for a biased media that has long tried to destroy his career.
None of these stories provide any evidence of a conflict of interest or misconduct. They merely attempt to paint conservative justices in a negative light, devoid of any factual basis. The left’s real problem is not the justices’ ethics, but their judicial philosophy that upholds the Constitution and the rule of law.
By relentlessly attacking conservative justices and questioning their integrity, the left seeks to erode public trust in the Supreme Court. They want to undermine the court’s credibility and, consequently, its ability to make impartial decisions based on the law.
This cynical ploy is a dangerous assault on the integrity of the judicial branch. It replaces reasoned debate and respect for the rule of law with character assassination and political grandstanding. Such tactics have no place in our society and threaten the very foundations of our democracy.
As responsible citizens, we must recognize this cynical ploy for what it is and reject it. We must resist attempts to destroy the legitimacy of our institutions and continue to uphold the principles of fairness and impartiality upon which our judicial system is built. Only through a commitment to the rule of law can we ensure that the Supreme Court remains a cornerstone of our democracy.
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