Excellent piece in the WaPo about the Republican approach to law. Say what you want about Republicans but they sure know how to navigate over the edges of ethics and law.
Republicans, once upon a time, fancied themselves as defenders of “law and order.” The essence of the hackneyed phrase was that the law should be dependable, apply impartially and act as a restraint on those in power. Courts were to respect precedent so individuals and civil society could rely on predictable laws. Unlike dictatorships, where “law” is a flimsy facade that autocrats use to further their interests and to intimidate and confuse opponents, Western democracies, conservatives once boasted, delinked the power of the ruler from the operation of the law, making the latter supreme.
No more. Since the disgraced former president took office, Republicans have adopted a different notion of the law. They seek to render it unpredictable, increase the discretion of the state (when their side is in control), and attempt to accomplish what would otherwise be politically untenable through misdirection and harassment.
In short, Republicans are taking refuge in Kafkaesque rule-making that empowers individuals and state authorities to harass, intimidate and confuse Americans attempting to exercise their fundamental rights. The law becomes a partisan tool to wage against opponents and to further otherwise unpopular social objectives (e.g., criminalizing abortion). It is a recipe for partisan legal administration and election nullification. If they cannot win elections and defend their policy objectives, Republicans appear willing to burn down democratic elections and “equal justice under the law.”
Republicans, once upon a time, fancied themselves as defenders of “law and order.” The essence of the hackneyed phrase was that the law should be dependable, apply impartially and act as a restraint on those in power. Courts were to respect precedent so individuals and civil society could rely on predictable laws. Unlike dictatorships, where “law” is a flimsy facade that autocrats use to further their interests and to intimidate and confuse opponents, Western democracies, conservatives once boasted, delinked the power of the ruler from the operation of the law, making the latter supreme.
No more. Since the disgraced former president took office, Republicans have adopted a different notion of the law. They seek to render it unpredictable, increase the discretion of the state (when their side is in control), and attempt to accomplish what would otherwise be politically untenable through misdirection and harassment.
In short, Republicans are taking refuge in Kafkaesque rule-making that empowers individuals and state authorities to harass, intimidate and confuse Americans attempting to exercise their fundamental rights. The law becomes a partisan tool to wage against opponents and to further otherwise unpopular social objectives (e.g., criminalizing abortion). It is a recipe for partisan legal administration and election nullification. If they cannot win elections and defend their policy objectives, Republicans appear willing to burn down democratic elections and “equal justice under the law.”
