The Republican Judicial Counterrevolution and the Trump Ascendancy
摘要
This chapter assesses fifty-plus years of conservative efforts to institute a judicial counterrevolution that aimed at replacing the liberal constitutional order with a “conservative constitution in exile.” While the attack on the federal judiciary proved a tactical success in building the Republican PartyRepublican Party’s electoralElectoral coalition, the strategic goal of constitutional counterrevolution was unrealized before the TrumpTrump, President Donald presidencyPresidency. Donald TrumpTrump, President Donald’s three Supreme CourtSupreme Court appointments, however, shifted the ideological center of the Court significantly to the right. Since then, the six-justice conservative super-majority has struck down core doctrines and precedents of the liberal constitutional order. Yet the Court now finds itself more out of sync with the elected branches and public attitudes than at any time since the 1930s, when it was forced to back down in the face of FDR’s Court-packing plan. Whether the Roberts CourtRoberts Court can avoid a similar fate depends on the Chief Justice’s skill in controlling his conservative majority, but, more critically, on the future of electoralElectoral politics.