From The New Yorker, “See if this sounds familiar: A cynical and self-admiring politician finds himself confronting the legal consequences of his low deeds and corruption. He faces criminal investigation, multiple indictments, trials, even prison. To defend himself from the potential consequences of his acts, he does not merely hire lawyers; he tries to stay in power. And, to obtain power, he is willing to deepen and inflame the worst tribal conflicts in his country. He is willing to undermine the rule of law. He is willing to make common cause with the most hateful voices in his society and place them by his side. In the end, he is willing to erode the liberty of his people to insure [sic] his own. The eagerness to put self before country, of course, is the common thread between two profoundly unprincipled politicians, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And, as such, the dispiriting turn in Jerusalem on Monday—the Knesset’s vote to diminish the powers of the Supreme Court and, therefore, enhance an imperilled Prime Minister’s ability to skirt justice—serves as a warning of what might take place in this country in the fall of 2024.”
I thought America would lead the decline of the liberal democratic world order and usher in a state of America seized by complete chaos — intentionally — but I guess I was wrong. It looks like Israel beat traitor trump, RepubliKKKlans, MAGA morons, evil evangelicals, and QAnon kooks to the punch. I’ve written about this countless times. The age of liberal democracies governing the Western world is waning, and people are too stupid to care or apprehend this alarming trend. Oh, well. Many countries have become gripped by illiberal democratic governments or right-wing political parties with outsized control: Hungary, Turkey, Poland; Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden, which are trending that way, and now Israel. America is next in line with these dominos. Mark my words, f***tards!
Indeed, Israel probably has proceeded further, faster than any other country. Netanyahu has learned well from Hitler — ironically — because he has gone right for the courts, understanding that to turn a thriving democracy into an autocracy, one must destroy checks and balances wherever they exist; for a critical aspect of fascism is unitary control of one party over every part of government: Executive, legislative, and judicial. (Actually, in Israel, the executive and legislative functions are fused, so he need only bring the judiciary to heel.) Netanyahu accomplished this by passing a law that strips the Supreme Court’s use of the Reasonableness Clause. Thus the ultimate check on the far-right wing government has been eliminated. (And there is more to come.) America accomplished a similar task but through different means. Instead of stripping SCOTUS of its ability to act as a check and balance on laws, the far-right wing has enshrined biased checks and balances by capturing the Court with an ultra-conservative supermajority. It effectively functions like a far-right-wing legislative branch. So, Israel and America have arrived at the same place, but through diverse means: An uber-conservative branch of government that has the final (unreviewable) say on how the population will live with the explicit intention of alienating minority groups to push them to second-class status while protecting and promoting conservative groups so they can dominate over everyone else. (The hallmark of liberal democracies has been to preserve minority classes while making sure the majority does not run roughshod over protected peoples. Not anymore.) Oh, well! People get the government they deserve and desire. Welcome to stupid America.