Refuse Fascism Podcast: SCOTUS Openly Advances Fascism
My Latest Discussion with Fellow Refuse Fascism Editorial Board Member Samantha Goldman
Some of you may have heard my two previous Paul Street Report podcasts on the recent horrible Supreme Court session:
and
Those were great and fun but this interview/discussion/podcast —- the one up top —- is better. Sam and I go into greater and even darker depth on some key case details and on the horrific fascist politics reflected and advanced in the Court’s recent authoritarian decisions. The Refuse Fascism podcast most particularly transcends my earlier audios in regard to the menacing absurdities of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and University of North Carolina (which outlawed the use of race as a factor in college admissions), 303 Creative v Elenis (the decision where the Court upheld a website designer’s right to deny services to an [it turns out imaginary] gay couple seeking a wedding website), and Biden v Nebraska (the case in which the Court shot down the US Department of Education’s Covid-era student loan payment delay and forgiveness program).
Regarding 303 Creative, please pay special attention to the distinction between speech and conduct.
Listen for our observations on how this Court is a Christian Fascist body functioning as a self-appointed single branch national Policy God that is perfectly happy to blow up previously normative concerns for precedent, standing, separation of powers, and general rule of law — all this in order to restore traditional social hierarchy.
Listen to our discussion (minutes 28 to 33) of how the 2023 session’s two “decent” decisions— the one that shot down the insane far-right Independent State Legislature Theory (Moore v. Harper) and the one that cancelled an over the top racist Congressional redistricting program in Alabama (Merrill v. Milligan) — do not really signify significant Court “moderation.”
Pay special attention (in minute 25) to John Roberts’ darkly hilarious “major questions doctrine,” which essentially reserves to the Court the right to veto any policy/law that Capital/capitalism-imperialism doesn’t like!
As I listened to this RF podcast this morning, I recalled that I had only barely skimmed the student loan decision before I did my two earlier Substack podcasts. The discussion of Biden v. Nebrasksa here is really neat.
Note also how I try (I think I succeeded :) to take the issue of the Court’s legitimacy deeper than weak Court popularity resulting from revanchist anti-majoritarian culture war decisions and corruption scandals (39:40-40:40), down to the very democratic nature of the 18th Century US slaveowners’ constitution.
Note also — and this is a key part of Refuse Fascism analysis — the critique of the dismal, fascism-appeasing Weimar Dems and the Democrats’ habitual pointing of everyone to the killing confines of the US Minority Rule electoral system (32:40-43:30).
Sam reads an important quote from RF show friend, fellow anti-fascist, and all around cool guy Jeff Sharlet.
I love this podcast!
Anyway, listen and “enjoy”: quote marks required because the material is dark AF.