On DACA and the emerging majority
 |
| March and rally/protest in response to the rescission of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in New York City on September 9, 2017, by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
FUCK YOU DONALD TRUMP! YOU LOST! YOU GET NOTHING! AND FUCK YOU RACISTS! YOU'RE YESTERDAY'S NEWS!!
Ahem.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, on to the analysis.
Yesterday, by a 5-4 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the liberals, the Supreme Court decided that The Rat's effort to undo President Barack Obama's DACA executive order,which allowed immigrant children who were brought to this country undocumented to remain and work, was unlawful. Not unconstitutional. It went against established law.
Of course, if, heaven forfend, The Rat gets re-elected, he can try again in a more "lawful" manner to send 800,000 Americans to countries they've never known. But that's for a dystopian option, which we shan't exercise, as Joe Biden gets sworn in on January 20, 2021.
Let's do a deep dive into why Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberal majority in striking down The Rat's attempt to deport almost a million souls, which would be on a par with The Most Catholic Monarchs of Spain expelling Jews in 1492, their most productive subjects.
First off, let me make this clear: John Roberts is not our friend. I made mention of this in my conference call with my library colleagues yesterday as we all celebrated the preservation of DACA. My boss has a godson who is a Dreamer. Chief Justice Roberts is above all an opportunist. He knows which way the winds are shifting. He knew this on the ACA. He knew this on gay rights. And he knows this on immigration.
The fact is that, according to that old saw, demography is destiny. And he knows, expert calculator that he is, that The Rat is toast in November, barring a dark miracle. If Joe Biden assumes the presidency, US immigration laws will be even more liberalized. This country will in short order become majority "minority" by 2050, or sooner. Once-dominant white people will, by hook or by crook, become the minority. And even some white people who now crow in their "majority" status will soon claim "No, we're not white!!"
John Roberts can read the tea leaves with the best of them. It's why he upheld Obamacare, and why he will again in October. It's why he sided to expand the Civil Rights Act to the LGBTQ+ community this week. The mouthbreathers can bray all they want; "their country" is gone, never to return. They just haven't accepted that. But Chief Justice Roberts knows.
And what Chief Justice Roberts knows is that if he doesn't steer the Court in the direction in which society is leaning, his cherished Court will be left by the wayside. A new Democratic administration, stymied by a conservative Court's intransigence, may well accede to the more radical voices and do what Roosevelt failed to do, and pack the Court, leaving Roberts toothless, a mere figurehead. And Chief Justice Roberts likes the accoutrements of his position. He likes being the kingmaker. And if being kingmaker means being a latter-day Earl Warren, then so be it.
Chief Justice Roberts didn't come down on the side of the angels this week because of any deeply held moral positions. He did so for merely temporal, transitory reasons. But these reasons are not going to go away over the next decades. Whether he likes it or not, this country is becoming more liberal year by year. And he is not a Strom Thurmond, standing in the way of progress. He will go along to get along, so as to preserve his prestige, and to avoid a Joe Biden administration neutering him and packing the Court. Like King Canute, he realizes he can't stand against the tide. As a man of no fixed principles save his own position, he will go with the wind. Our job is to make sure the wind keeps blowing in the right direction.
The fate of Dreamers won't be finally decided until Joe Biden takes office. But the fate of the Court is patently obvious. Chief Justice Roberts is above all an institutionalist. He will do what it takes to preserve the Court as it is. And if it means saying a Mass in Paris, well, Paris is well worth a Mass.
Hey everyone!
As this is another feel-good post, we're going to do more fundraising. AGAIN, Trevor and I don't do this for the filthy lucre. But, filthy lucre is appreciated. IF you can chip in, go to this here link and give what you can. If you can't, spread news of this here blog wide and far.