I couldn’t find links to the actual opinions/denials of certiorari
Brian
Some concern being expressed that Justice Thomas is asserting that the federal courts can review state election decisions, and also declaring that vote by mail is fraudulent:
Link to the decision:
That’s the same Clarence Thomas whose wife has apparently very close connections to the insurrectionist criminal mob that stormed Congress and murdered people?
Yea, no problems there at all.
That’s one reason we have nine Supreme Court Justices and not just one - to keep one lunatic from screwing up the judiciary.
The only difference between the Mitch McConnell wing and the Trump wing of the party is that McConnell wanted a procedural, legislative, and judicial coup; Trump wanted a violent coup. McConnell is no friend of democracy but he concedes that it exists and that it’s better to have an aristocratic elitist democracy than a government run on the whim of a wannabe presidential dictator. But that’s really the only difference.
I agree that you’re correct about this difference. I think McConnell is also correct that it is in fact better to have an aristocratic elitist democracy than a government run in the whim of a wannabe presidential dictator. Of course having a legitimate functional democracy is even better, but if given a choice between the other two, McConnell’s version is better than Trump’s.
IIRC it is not the first time Thomas has expressed willingness to have the court look at whatever was the point someone was trying to make even when the majority (and even a majority of conservatives) have said “let’s leave well enough alone for now”? But notice that again, the Trump Justices expressed no problem with the dismissal. So it raises eyebrows.
And yes, the " Old Republican Guard" do prefer something more like the Venetian or Roman republics where there are due processes and forms that are followed to keep the oligarchs in power, but among each other they play by rules; a regime of pure strongman’s whims is bad for business investment.
Linda Greenhouse, opinion writer for the NY Times (I think she used to be their SCOTUS reporter?) tears into these dismissals. Pretty concerning:
Here are the rejections:
https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2020/11/022221zor_2cp3-2.pdf
(Georgia case was voluntarily dismissed, after expedited case was denied:
https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2020/11/Pearson.pdf)
Wisconsin and Arizona: