Ahead of the pending decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, Democrats are already questioning and, in some cases, rejecting the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.
As Rebecca reported Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether President Biden will accept the decision as legitimate, referring to the leak showing the Court overturning Roe v. Wade. She wouldn’t say yes—but explained the White House is “certainly going to respond” and left it at that.
Other Democrats were more open about challenging the legitimacy of the Court.
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann said “it has become necessary to dissolve the Supreme Court of the United States,” and suggested New York should ignore the landmark ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) was equally upset about Thursday’s ruling, noting the “far-right Court has gone out of its way to expand the Second Amendment and undermine public safety, while shrinking the Fifth Amendment and taking away Miranda rights. We cannot allow this overtly political Court to stand in the way of our safety. Expand the Court.”
Keith Olbermann, US Senator: same energy pic.twitter.com/FaQUGGjAYk
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 23, 2022
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) blasted the Court's Second Amendment ruling as "shameful" and argued, along with other progressives, that it's already facing a "legitimacy crisis."
These 6 justices have endangered New Yorkers and make us all less safe. Overreach like this is exactly why the Court faces an increasing legitimacy crisis.
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) June 23, 2022
With gun violence skyrocketing across the nation, we should be making our communities safer. This decision is shameful. https://t.co/8tbK3moCcB
Today's SCOTUS decisions to overturn Miranda Rights and commonsense gun violence prevention laws make a perfect case for why we need to #ExpandTheCourt instead of allowing far-right extremists erode our basic rights and safety. We are facing a crisis of legitimacy.
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) June 23, 2022
.?@chicagosmayor? Lightfoot: “The fact that the court is coming down with this decision feels tone deaf and I — I worry that it undermines the legitimacy of the court, particularly given the leaked draft of the Roe decision.” pic.twitter.com/Z77wRABaxx
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 23, 2022
Others already wrote off the Court's legitimacy at this point.
More Democratic rejection of the legitimacy of our governing institutions: https://t.co/URdoYqEcgC
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 23, 2022
Just a reminder: the Supreme Court doesn’t represent the majority of Americans, the constitution doesn’t give them the power they’ve granted themselves and they have no means of enforcing their rulings without our consent.
— Max Berger (@maxberger) June 23, 2022
At some point, losing legitimacy means losing power.
Supreme Court precedent after precedent is falling before the current court that further calls into question its legitimacy.
— Sarah Klee Hood for Congress NY-22 (@SarahKleeHoodNY) June 23, 2022
Purposely weakening the authority of of state to protect its citizens from gun violence is a purposeful decision to make Americans less safe.
All this was in response to Bruen. Expect much more to come after Dobbs.