The shortcomings of US Democracy and government are very much on show this week. Our own shortcomings are well established and demonstrated; the unelected House of Lords and the large scale disenfranchisement of the "first past the post" system but the USA, with its elected Head of State, upper and lower elected Houses and independent judiciary safeguarding the Constitution has always seemed a more democratic structure. Ho hum...at the moment the biggest legislative achievement of Obama's presidency (in fact the biggest liberal achievement since LBJ) having stormily passed both Houses is in danger of being wiped out by one unelected official. The Supreme Court judges are appointed as much as anything for their political affiliations, at the moment there are 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans and 1 Independant, they are supposed to rule impartially on points of law but for a long time almost all important decisions have been decided 5 to 4 on party lines, the independant legal wing of government has degenerated into just another partisan Fight Club and the whole political edifice of Washington boils down to the decision of one unoffiliated judge. Its nothing new of course just think back to the election in 2000 when the pivotal count in Florida was disputed, a bipartisan recount narrowly gave the election to Al Gore but the Supreme Court was dominated by conservatives who ruled a recount illegal and APPOINTED George Bush to the Presidency. The reasoning justifying their decision was so weak and contrived that even they stated in the judgement that it could not be used to set a legal precedent, after all next time the boot might be on the other foot.
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