This is apropos of nothing specific, but I really hope that for the rest of his time on the Court, Justice Gorsuch always has an asterisk next to his name to note that he sits in a stolen seat and should not be a Justice.
Gorsuch did not steal the seat, Mitch McConnell and his Senate cronies did. But the fact that it isn't his fault does not make it any less of a stolen seat. I know every time I hear about Gorsuch on the news, I still smell a whiff of illegitimacy.
Does anyone else? I have no idea. I hope so. And I hope that if they do it lasts. I know after the 2000 election there was some talk whether Bush's failure to win the popular vote and Supreme Court-forced win would leave a cloud of illegitimacy for his entire presidency. But by 9/11, that cloud was gone. Nowadays, he is just the 43rd president. There is no widespread sense that he should not have been. Can the Gorsuch asterisk stick around?
Gorsuch did not steal the seat, Mitch McConnell and his Senate cronies did. But the fact that it isn't his fault does not make it any less of a stolen seat. I know every time I hear about Gorsuch on the news, I still smell a whiff of illegitimacy.
Does anyone else? I have no idea. I hope so. And I hope that if they do it lasts. I know after the 2000 election there was some talk whether Bush's failure to win the popular vote and Supreme Court-forced win would leave a cloud of illegitimacy for his entire presidency. But by 9/11, that cloud was gone. Nowadays, he is just the 43rd president. There is no widespread sense that he should not have been. Can the Gorsuch asterisk stick around?
