The U.S. Constitution established a federal government with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The powers of these three branches are vested in the President, Congress, and the federal courts. Congress consists of the House and Senate, the federal courts consist of the Supreme Court, 13 circuit courts, and 94 district courts.
The intent of the Founding Fathers was to create a federal government with checks and balances so that the American people would be governed fairly and have a means of redress if they were not. However, all that has changed. White Christian nationalists overtook the judiciary when the courts were packed with Christian nationalist judges and overtook half of Congress when a white Christian nationalist was elected the speaker of the House.
Former President Trump, working on behalf of white Christian nationalists, promised that, if elected, he would pack the courts with white Christian nationalist judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Unfortunately, this is one of the promises he kept. Of the nine justices on the so-called Supreme Court, six are Christian nationalists (66%), 54 of the 179 justices in the 13 circuit courts are Christian nationalists (30%), and 174 of the 673 justices in the 94 federal district courts are Christian nationalists (26%). The observation “You don’t need votes when you own the courts” applies here. Alarmed? Wait, there is more.
Here is a short list of what the new speaker of the House believes: America is not a Democracy but a “Biblical republic,” women’s equality undermines morality, immigration is “the true existential threat to the country,” liberals undermine “the foundations of religion and morality in the U.S.,” addressing climate change is destroying capitalism, and Trump won the 2020 election. But wait, what action does he take to impose his personally held extreme religious beliefs on the nation?
The speaker opposes abortion rights, gay rights, same-sex marriage, denies everyone has the right to be treated equally before the law, was a key player in trying to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, supports authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, accepted campaign funds from Russian nationals for his 2018 election, does not support funding Ukraine, and agrees with the claim, “If you think moving from Kevin McCarthy to Mike Johnson doesn’t show MAGA ascendance, then you’re not paying attention.”
Maybe someone should have paid attention to the pro-abortion-rights ballot measures that passed in seven states since Roe was overturned in 2022. Those results clearly show America favors democracy, particularly women’s right to choose over white Christian nationalist extremism.
The results of the recent 2023 election show that the trend continued. Ohio voters approved an Ohio constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care in that state. Virginia voters saw through the claim that a 15-week abortion ban was a “moderate” bill by retaining women’s right to choose and electing a majority of pro-choice candidates to the Virginia House, thus flipping the House and taking control of the Virginia legislature. In addition to Ohio and Virginia, voters in Pennsylvania elected a pro-choice justice to the state’s Supreme Court, and earlier this year, Wisconsin, another swing state voted a pro-choice justice onto their Supreme Court. Nationally, Moms For Liberty and anti-trans school board candidates across the country experienced an almost total defeat. Finally, the Kentucky governor defeated his white Christian nationalist opponent despite an American Principles Project $2 million anti-trans campaign.
Writer Molly Jong-Fast summed up the pro-choice election results nicely with: “Women don’t want to die for (the speaker’s) religious beliefs.”
Usually, when it becomes clear that voters reject a movement’s core values, proponents of that worldview adjust their direction. However, one Christian nationalist in the House claimed they lost because they weren’t extreme enough. The Ohio Senate president claimed it was time to start “ballot campaigns to repeal or replace” the Ohio constitutional amendment voters just approved, and several Ohio representatives vowed to “do everything in our power” to stop the constitutional amendment. On the national scene, a former Christian nationalist senator claimed “we” lost because “Pure democracies are not the way to run a country.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made a customary speech before handing over the gavel to the new speaker. His words captured the moment: “There are many throughout this country who are understandably alarmed at the turbulence of the moment, at the chaos, the dysfunction, and the extremism that has been unleashed in this chamber from the very beginning of this Congress.
“But this, too, shall pass. Our country has often confronted adversity, and the good news is we always find a way to make it to the other side.”