Скачать или смотреть David Brock on how Republicans took over America's judiciary in plain sight

The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson ending a national right to terminate a pregnancy came as an abrupt shock to millions of Americans. But if you had been paying attention beforehand, the verdict was no surprise at all.

In fact, the end of Roe v. Wade was the culmination of a successful strategy that began in the 1970s To flood the United States court system with activist judges who would impose their radical religious and economic viewpoints on America. Viewpoints that were so radical congressional Republicans didn't even dare to try to enact them legislatively.

And as outrageous as the court's recent rulings have been, what is perhaps even more outrageous is that the right wing takeover of the American judicial system took place almost entirely in full public view, as organizations like the Federalist Society and other deceptively named groups worked together to launder extremist viewpoints and to disperse millions of dollars to everyone from law students to Supreme Court justices.

David Brock, our guest in today's episode, lays out how this all happened in his new book, Stench, The Making of the Thomas Court and the Unmaking of America.

Can anything be done about this dreadful situation? We discussed that as well. I hope you'll enjoy. And if you get a chance, please do share this episode on social media to help spread the word. Thanks a lot.

TIMECODES
00:00 Introduction
04:39 The role of money in judicial campaigns
05:57 The Powell memo and its impact
09:48 The rise of false balance in media
21:41 The Christian Right legal movement's overwhelming Roman Catholic dominance
30:24 How the 1987 failed Robert Bork nomination was the catalyst for the Federalist Society
38:41 Why the current SCOTUS is "the Clarence Thomas Court"
43:35 Liberal leaders and donors have done very little to counteract the right's legal juggernaut
51:28 Brock's personal relationship to the right-wing judicial takeover
58:20 Proposals for Supreme Court reform
01:02:28 The importance of media and institutions
01:08:57 Conclusion

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