You'll Fall for Anything...

I saw one of those ridiculous takes the other day, the ones that you see all the time now that basically boil down to "somebody was mean to me so I had no choice but to vote for Trump." The snowflake, candy assed, protect me daddy, weaklings.

This one was that the reason our Diana Ross would have kicked you to the curb not at all Supreme Court is the way it is is because Bork wasn't allowed on. Yes, you read that right. Because years ago Bork was kept from a position that's why the court is now filled with "originalist" unitary executive theory Borklike judges. It makes no sense.

Now I will say that for my entire adult life I've heard Republicans whine about Bork. Each time there is a nominee they cry about how they can't let him get Borked. Like his positions were fine, it's just that mean old Ted Kennedy told everyone about them and that's the problem. The typical our views aren't the problem, you talking about them is the problem. You're being divisive!

Umm, no, I don't think that's the issue.

My dad was a capital C conservative. He was at one of the first Promise Keepers meetings back in the 90s, he and my brothers drove up to Denver to be there. He said afterward that he wouldn't go back because they weren't as interested in imparting the gospel in men as they were parting the men from their wallets. He was an elder in our church, think of them as the board of directors, but resigned his position when my sister had her issues. His belief was that he did not have his own house in order and so he should not be trying to lead the Church. That was my dad.

I remember waiting for the flood of other elders and deacons to resign and yet...the fathers of the boys getting high with Susan, or selling drugs out of their cars, they stayed on. Tut tutting how awful it was that Marshall couldn't control his daughter. Years later when I had my falling out with my Bible Bowl coach and she wanted us to meet together with the elder in charge of the youth ministry all I could think was, you can't even get your own son to attend youth group. Not that I'm sad about that since the last time he was active he tried to rape me but, okay you lead the youth. I did not take the meeting. I told my parents I had objections to it on a spiritual basis (actually quoted the relevant bible verses) and my dad accepted that as solid reasoning and they did not force me to meet with them. (I never told my folks about the attempted rape, as I mentioned when I wrote about it I totally bought into the 'this is my fault' of it all)

My dad had a strong core value system. He and I did not agree about politics or religion, but he never said or did anything that I saw that would make me doubt his convictions. He was a strongly moral man. He was the John Wayne you saw on the big screen (Not the actual racist POS that he was off screen). He was steady. He took care of his family. He loved my mother more than anything in this world. He taught us the religion they followed and taught us to be able to defend why we followed it. Which of course for me that question everything mindset led me away from it, but that's okay, I tried to take his strong moral center with me.

And for him, Bork was a no go. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Really you should not show your face around here at all. Bork's involvement in The Saturday Night Massacre with Nixon meant to my father that Bork had no moral core. In fact the only other thing I ever heard him say about the nomination was how disappointed he was in Reagan for nominating him.

So for me Bork has always been a "you've got to be kidding me with this shit" eye roll moment when people try to say that he was treated unfairly. That his qualifications were impeccable so his beliefs should not have been questioned. When you are sitting on the highest court in the land you absolutely should have your beliefs questioned. You should be able to defend your beliefs and why it's going to be okay when they color your legal decisions. Because they will. It's insane to think that the core of you won't be guiding your choices.

Except there are a lot of the current Republican leaders who have no core. Empty suits. Vacant souls. What do you believe? Okay how about now? And now? And why are those three vastly different answers? (See Marco Rubio and JD Vance and Lindsey Graham and well, almost all the rest) I don't put Trump in this category because he does have a strong guiding belief. Narcissism is his core. That endless black hole that needs fed constantly.

I don't know what my dad would think about this current iteration of his political party. He died long before the first Trump presidency. I know my mother did not vote for Trump after being a decades long straight party ticket voter. She couldn't wrap her head around how this immoral man was supposed to be the President and since Gary Johnson was running she was more than happy to vote for him. She died before Trump's second run so I don't know if she would have shifted and softened by then. I hope not.

My dad's belief was you have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. As the nation falls ever further into authoritarianism I just shake my head. I wish we the people would have stood a little stronger against Trump. I wish there weren't so many empty suits. I wish the courts weren't packed with Heritage Foundation hacks. But I don't wish that we had put Bork on the court in the 80s. I absolutely don't think that starting this slide 40 years earlier would be a better idea. What a ridiculous take.