There’s an old Greek adage, perhaps apocryphal, which is different from apocalyptic by letter count, that goes Who’ll watch the Watchers? It refers to the problem of who is policing the police, etc. I’m reminded of that bit of old wisdom in this paragraph from WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin:
The Thomas scandal cannot be ignored. As University of Michigan law professor Leah Litman tells me, “The court protects its reputation in large part through good will, and by acting like a respectable institution. Ginni Thomas is burning through that good will at a rapid pace — making the court and its justices appear corrupt, as if they are or could be casting votes in cases based on the interest or possible involvement of their spouse.” Litman rightly calls Thomas’s conduct “appalling.”
As SCOTUS is SCOTUS, there is no real appeal of bad behavior by SCOTUS justices, except impeachment and conviction by the Senate. When such a political institution is as polarized as it is right now, in which the arrogance of – let’s say it together, both parties – catalyzes fear and hatred, rather than mature judgment, in Senators, there is little hope for seasoned oversight of SCOTUS by the Senate.
This is not an unique problem. Governing bodies are often infested with inferior, damaged human beings that lust for power and are driven by irrational urges. In autocracies, it results in everything from injustice to mass murder. In democracies, it results in discontent, mass mutterings, and the rise of charismatics who characteristically know little beyond their lust for position and power.
It’s up to the people to replace those Senators who won’t do their jobs, whether it’s McConnell or Manchin.
