July 26, 2026
[Please understand that the following was written in the 1830’s] The [American] President may slip without the state suffering, for his duties are limited. Congress may slip without the Union perishing, for above Congress there is the electoral body [he means the voters] which can change its spirit by changing its membership. But if ever the Supreme Court came to be composed of rash or corrupt men, the confederation would be threatened by anarchy or civil war.
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805 -1859), French historian, politician, Democracy in America (1835-1840), vol. 1, Jay p.365
MEDITATION: Can we agree that de Tocqueville got it wrong on the president? And agree that Congress can still be constrained by the electorate, from time to time—despite gerrymandering, uncontrolled election spending, and an aversion to compromise of any sort?
COMMENTARY: What De Tocqueville says about the court, however, remains true. Justices, despite what they say to get appointed to a life-time job, often have their own agenda, and once in, really don’t care who knows it. They are—apparently—the “untouchables” of the American political system.
