Democracy

No Explanation. No Vote Count. No Accountability. On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned, unexplained emergency order keeping New York’s 11th Congressional District map in place — almost certainly through the 2026 midterm elections. A state court had ruled that map unconstitutional because it diluted the voting power of Black and Latino residents. The Supreme Court stepped in and blocked the fix. We don’t know how many justices voted for it. We don’t know what legal standard was applied. We don’t know why the Court acted before New York’s own highest court had a chance to weigh in. We know only the outcome: the Republican-drawn district survives, and the voters whose power it dilutes will have to wait. This is the shadow docket — and this time, it is being used to pick election winners. ...

Corporations as Super-Citizens Citizens United v. FEC (2010) gets all the attention for allowing unlimited corporate political spending. But it’s just one decision in a systematic judicial project to expand corporate power while shrinking worker, consumer, and citizen rights. ...

How Republicans Stole Two Supreme Court Seats In March 2016, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court with 293 days remaining in his term. Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings, claiming voters should decide in the upcoming election. In September 2020, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died with just 46 days before the election. Senate Republicans rushed through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in record time—just 30 days from nomination to confirmation. ...

The Day the Voting Rights Act Died On June 25, 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a 5-4 conservative majority in Shelby County v. Holder, effectively gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965—the most important civil rights legislation in American history. Within hours, Texas announced it would implement the nation’s most restrictive voter ID law—a law that had been blocked under federal preclearance. Three days later, Alabama passed strict photo ID requirements. ...

Democracy’s Darkest Irony Here’s a fact that should alarm every American who believes in majority rule: six of the nine current Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents who lost the popular vote when they first ran for office—and confirmed by senators representing a minority of the American population. This isn’t democracy. It’s minority rule with a lifetime appointment. ...

No Single Fix Will Save Us When confronting the Supreme Court’s crisis of legitimacy, reformers often advocate for a single solution: “Just add term limits.” “Just expand the Court.” “Just pass ethics rules.” But here’s the uncomfortable truth: no single reform—however well-designed—will fix a Supreme Court captured by the Federalist Society, funded by dark money, staffed with justices who accept millions in gifts, grant presidents immunity for crimes, dismantle gun safety laws, and overturn precedents based on ideology. ...

How the Roberts Court Dismantled Accountability in One Term In a single Supreme Court term spanning 2022-2024, six unelected justices fundamentally rewrote the balance of power in American government. Three decisions stand out for their devastating impact on democratic accountability and the rule of law: Trump v. United States (July 2024): Presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (June 2024): Federal agencies can no longer interpret ambiguous statutes—courts will instead New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (June 2022): Gun regulations must match 18th-century historical traditions, not modern public safety needs ...

“A Rejection of the Common Sense of the American People” On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most destructive decisions in American history. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, five conservative justices struck down restrictions on corporate political spending, opened the floodgates to unlimited money in politics, and fundamentally corrupted American democracy. The numbers tell the story: Outside spending exploded 28-fold, from $144 million in 2008 to over $4.2 billion in 2024. Dark money groups have poured more than $4.3 billion into elections from undisclosed sources. Just 100 billionaires spent $2.6 billion in the 2024 election—nearly 20% of all spending. ...

“With Fear for Our Democracy, I Dissent” On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most dangerous decisions in American history. In Trump v. United States, the Court’s conservative supermajority ruled that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for their “official acts”—essentially placing them above the law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, reading her dissent from the bench in a rare show of protest, delivered a chilling warning: “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.” ...

The Legitimacy Crisis: A Court Out of Step with America Public trust in the Supreme Court has collapsed, and for good reason. Gallup polling shows confidence in the Court at historic lows, with approval dropping to just 40% in recent years—lower than Congress. The Court’s decisions increasingly split along purely ideological lines, with the six conservative justices voting as a bloc on the most contentious issues. This isn’t judicial reasoning—it’s partisan politics in robes. ...

The McConnell Power Grab: Hypocrisy in Real Time The theft of the Supreme Court didn’t happen overnight. It was a carefully orchestrated heist, and Mitch McConnell was the mastermind. In February 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia died, President Obama had nearly a year left in his term. Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a moderate judge who Republicans had previously praised. McConnell’s response? He invented a new rule: no Supreme Court confirmations in election years. “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” McConnell declared, blocking even hearings for Garland. ...

The Uncomfortable Truth There’s a reality that many in the political establishment find difficult to accept: without Supreme Court reform, virtually no progressive agenda is possible. Not healthcare expansion. Not voting rights protection. Not environmental legislation. Not labor reforms. Not reproductive freedom. Nothing. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s a simple recognition of how power actually works in American government. As long as six Republican-appointed justices hold veto power over the entire government, meaningful reform is dead on arrival. ...