Tribune. America is worried. That so many citizens mourn the disappearance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court judge since 1993, as if it were the last bulwark preserving American values, shows the dramatic decay of institutions. Certainly, “RBG” was a remarkable woman, an icon of feminism, a passionate and rigorous lawyer. But why is his next replacement so moving, why does he signal the entry of the United States into a zone of turbulence from which they are not sure to recover? Is the democratic machine broken?
Against all odds, the Constitution ratified in 1788 has lasted more than two centuries. Its editors, the famous Founding Fathers, were pessimists: distrustful of the outbursts of the people, personal ambitions, destructive party rivalries, they had built a prudent system of “Checks and balances”, checks and balances, intended to prevent the grabbing of power by one camp or the other. They divided power into three branches – executive (the president), legislative (the Senate and the House of Representatives), judicial (the Supreme Court).
Nothing could be done without agreement between the three: the law must be voted in the same terms in the two chambers; the president must sign it or veto it; it can be challenged before the Supreme Court, whose members were appointed by the president, then confirmed by the Senate … The aim of this device: to force a compromise. We have to negotiate to find an agreement.
In the 1990s, things started to turn sour when young Republican elected officials advocating the “conservative revolution” arrived in Congress at the cry of “No compromise! “. Democratic degradation has accelerated with the Tea Party movement refusing the legitimacy of the election of Barack Obama. It took a breakneck speed when power fell into the hands of the populist Donald Trump who, day after day, trampled the functioning of institutions, flouting rules and customs, corrupting people and debates with threats, slander and The lie.
Farewell to law enforcement!
Today, the replacement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg may appear to be the blow too many. We know that the Supreme Court will play a decisive role on the key questions which deeply divide American society: abortion, contraception, “racial” justice, immigration, climate, medical insurance, arms control … At the top of the judicial hierarchy, the Court may also have to arbitrate electoral disputes, including… the outcome of the November 3 presidential election.
You have 58% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
