The Supreme Court Isn’t Interested in Facts: In decision after decision, the conservative justices are ignoring the evidentiary record that lower courts have worked hard to establish. - "The damage from the decision occurs at several levels. It includes the slow unraveling of constitutional structure when a rogue executive encroaches on territory assigned to others, in this case Congress and the states; the institutional signaling when the Court blesses that encroachment; the deepening tangle of the Court's election-law jurisprudence, incoherent as doctrine but reliable in outcome, with the Republican appointees' delivering on Republican interests; the diminishing of public trust in the Court; and the shunting of impositions and uncertainties onto the people who run elections and the people who vote in them."
The Wrath of MAGA: The ferocity of the response to Jon Ossoff reveals something deeper about the world of Trump supporters. - "So why did MAGA world respond as it did? One explanation is psychological. In 2016, Trump found a constituency already primed for grievance, and taught it to want more. His supporters have kept themselves in a state of frenzy ever since. They need to be perpetually outraged, aggrieved, and insulted. MAGA world has become addicted to the feeling. It delivers a jolt of adrenaline, it provides a feeling of social belonging, and it gives people a sharpened sense of purpose. They see themselves as warriors in a drama of their own construction. They view their opponents - Democrats, progressives, critics of Trump - as personifications of evil. Inflicting pain on their enemies feels good, really good, and it feels just.
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"But there's something else going on as well, at least with one subgroup of Trump supporters. I have in mind people who are not true believers but who, for a variety of reasons, long ago made their peace with Trump. These are people-many radio and television commentators, podcasters, and members of Congress among them-who were dedicated conservatives before Trump came along. They believed character was destiny and virtue mattered; they revered the rule of law, institutions, and norms; they championed free trade and free markets, fiscal responsibility, and a strong Western alliance; and they opposed patrimonialism, corruption, and lawlessness in the presidency.
"They have given up on all of those commitments, and so much more, as the cost of supporting Trump. The cost of speaking out against him, even when they knew better, was simply too high. They wanted to stay in the good graces of those in power. So they broke. And they know they broke.
"This has caused a painful degree of cognitive dissonance within many of them. They want to think better of themselves-and others to think better of them-than their actions warrant. What they see in Ossoff's comments is a chance to signal that they are still who they once were, or at least seemed to be. In this case, they are portraying themselves as enraged at Ossoff's 'misogynistic lies.' His comments are 'repulsive' and 'guttersnipe statements.' The senator from Georgia is a 'disgusting coward' and a 'disgusting pig.' We're told, 'You don't get lower than that.' They are offended that Ossoff is 'punching down' at 'defenseless' women."
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