Men in Black by Mark Levin

Men in Black by Mark Levin is one of those books that really makes one hopeless!

Mark Levin traces the history of the Supreme Court and describes case after case which has enriched their power at the expense of the people. They have become, in fact, tyrants as they dive deeper and deeper into all aspects of our lives. He says, "The Supreme Court is abusing and subverting its constitutional role. It has chosen to become the unelected, unassailable social engineer of American society." We must, as Americans, defy tyranny and return our country to its Constitutional roots.

We learn as Americans at an early age that the Supreme Court was established to decide the Constitutionality of laws passed by the Congress. However this idea of “judicial review” was considered and rejected by the founders. They knew that to allow the judiciary to overturn laws would necessarily introduce a partisan component into what they designed to be an independent branch. Even so, the federal judiciary as created by the Constitution posed an enormous problem. The anti-Federalists recognized the court would have the ability to ultimately subsume all power to itself, with no one to restrain it. How prescient!

It didn’t take long for the Supreme Court to use the ambiguity of the Constitution to usurp the power to decide the Constitutionality of laws. In Marbury vs. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall, intending to protect the supremacy of the Constitution, gave his court the authority to nullify unconstitutional laws. Thomas Jefferson immediately recognized the egregious breach of power. “To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.” He recognized 200 years ago what we have seen come to fruition since, the tyranny of unelected and unaccountable judges.

Of course the moral philosopher-king as envisioned by Plato could judge rightly and with wisdom. Unfortunately we are not a nation run by moral philosophers. We are a nation of fallen men, governed by fallen men. As such, the Supreme Court has used its unlimited powers in many deleterious ways.

On such case of judicial overreach involves the striking down of prayer in schools. Although this nation was explicitly founded on religious principles and beliefs, the court decided that freedom of religion meant freedom from religion. Our nation has been in legal turmoil regarding what is Constitutional and what is not ever since. The problem goes back to the original sin of the misinterpretation of the “establishment” clause. The court interpreted far too broadly what constituted “establishing” a religion to include state sanctions of anything of a religious nature. Now we exist in a Wonderland where “holiday” trees are O.K., but Christmas trees are not, where Santa is acceptable, but baby Jesus is verbotten, where “God bless you” after a sneeze may or may not incite legal action, where our own Declaration of Independence with its four references to God may be unconstitutional, or even the Constitution with the “year of our Lord” reference may make reading the Constitution in schools... UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

Another area into which the court intruded was the issue of privacy. Activists on the court, determined to make abortion legal, found the right buried in the “penumbras, formed by emanations” of actual rights. It’s actually embarrassing for its ephemeralness of reasoning. However, not only did the Supreme Court dare to go where no founder would have ever intended, into the very womb of a woman, but they intentionally laid the groundwork for future cases involving birth control, homosexuality, and gay marriage. 

On another hot button issue, race relations, the court began inserting itself with disastrous results as early as the 1860s with Dredd Scott. Only a civil war and a 100,000 dead could right that particular wrong. The Supreme Court’s track record on racial issues since then has been equally disastrous. “At various times in our history, the Court has promoted slavery, segregation, and internment based on race and ethnicity. Today it promotes reverse discrimination.” The do-gooders on the Court have not only not made race relations better, they have laid the foundation for never-ending animosity.

The Court has actively championed anti-American ideals. Illegal immigrants are granted the rights of citizens by an activist court. Terrorists are similarly welcomed into the fold. Socialist policies are mandated from the bench or are given the green light. Rather than protecting the 10th Amendment and states’ rights to protect their authority, the Court has run rough shod over our liberties and allowed the all-powerful Federal government to intrude into our lives. Free speech has been silenced when the Court finds it distasteful to its liberal values. Campaign “reform” which limits our most basic and important mode of speech has been repeatedly upheld. Being unaccountable to ordinary Americans has made the courts ignorant of the values of ordinary Americans.

The left, more than the right, has recognized and used the power of the courts to its advantage. While appointing very leftist judges, they have “borked” or threatened to “bork” conservative judges appointed by conservatives. They have filibustered appointments to the bench for years at the behest of liberal activist groups. What they cannot pass legislatively, they pass by judicial fiat. By not allowing the people to work through controversial issues at the ballot box and in open conversation, the left has created an increasingly polarized nation full of politically correct opinions foisted upon the dissenters.

So how to return to the Constitutional judiciary our founders intended? Policing themselves through the impeachment process hasn’t worked. We need to change the way judges operate. Maybe fixed terms with a renomination and confirmation process at the end of the term would help limit judicial fantasies. Create a “legislative veto” in which 2/3 of the legislature can limit or nullify a court ruling would return some authority back to the people. Use recess appointments to avoid filibusters. The judges can serve until the end of the second session of the current congress before having to face the confirmation process. These reforms may help lead the way to a more Constitutional court system.

“[L]ook at where we are today. It’s difficult to find any aspect of society where the federal government doesn’t have some role or influence. And the Supreme Court,  more than any other branch or entity of government, is the most radical and aggressive practitioner of unrestrained power... We must oppose tyranny, whatever its form.”