America Needs More Cori Bushes

I wrote last week about the perfidy of the current Supreme Court in last Sunday's post, and no sooner had I done so then yet another example of that perfidy was brought to my attention thanks to the good citizens of Slate, another Web-based media outlet that practices better journalism than its MSM counterparts.  The Court's decision in the eviction moratorium case, effectively throwing millions of Americans into the streets with little or no notice, is yet another example of the right-wing majority's ongoing efforts to limit, if not destroy, the reach of the administrative state, given that the moratorium had been put into place by the Centers for Disease Control.  

It is, in other words, a part of the ideological war the Court is waging on behalf of the private-sector patrons and their public-sector servants, many of whom are landlords who want their rent despite the fact that their tenants no longer have the money to pay for it, and don't care about the fact that $42 billion appropriated by Congress for rent relief is currently stuck in bureaucratic hell.

The conservative project of taking over the federal court system is, inherently, an antidemocratic (as well as an anti-Democratic) project, designed to accomplish through judicial power what cannot be achieved by way of free and fair elections (which, of course, they have also worked to subvert).  In the end, it works as well as the willingness of their political opponents to put up with it.  And, given the passivity of Democrats in dealing with their opponents' subversion, I can't blame the modern conservative movement for calculating that its brazen efforts to build an autocracy for its own benefit is worth it.  

In the past, liberals have been deferential to arguments organized around concerns about process and fairness, to the point of looking away from the early stages of this brazenness.  However, the subversion is now so out in the open, lacking only an evil laugh to formally announce itself, that the deference has run the danger of beginning to look like cowardice.

Until, perhaps, now.

Congresswoman Cori Bush's willingness to dramatize the plight of the homeless, rooted in her own experience, by sleeping on the steps of the Capitol, was a reminder of what it means to serve the people by putting their needs ahead of playing the standard Washington-as-usual game, AND doing it without resorting to violence or fear in the process.  It was a perfect example of creating what the late Congressman John Lewis called "good trouble."  It illustrates the importance of not forgetting where you came from, or who got you there.

Perhaps more importantly, it worked.  It motivated President Biden to sign an executive order that, for the most part, extended the moratorium.  It's far from a complete solution.  But, save for Congresswoman Bush's willingness to go the extra P.R. mile when it comes to fighting for the sake of those who need her help the most, it's not clear that anything would have happened, and the homeless crisis in our country would have exploded to a level no one could handle.

What's particularly notable about Biden's order is the fact that, as even he conceded, it may not past constitutional muster should it, too, end up before the courts.  In some ways, this is even more noteable than Bush's demonstration on the Capitol steps.  Biden is, in many ways, the epitome of the cautious, process-oriented Democrat that I just wrote about.  That has been the case throughout his entire half-century in Washington, and it is certainly reflected in his unwillingness to make a big push toward ending or modifying the Senate's filibuster rule, to make the passage of legislation with a simple majority vote easier.  I may be overly optimistic, but this could be a sign that Biden is beginning to recognize the magnitude of the democracy crisis this county currently faces, and that the past is not necessary a road map to the future.

In the meantime, Congresswoman Bush has shown herself to be an example of the type of political leader we desperately need at all levels of government:  someone who is willing to put the needs of the people she serves ahead of her own personal convenience or comfort.  During my time working in Maryland state government, I had the good fortune to work for one such person:  Grace Turner, who was my manager during the time I worked as a contracts administrator for the Department of Human Resources.  

In her job, she had to cope with the needs of foster placements for children with an array of special needs (multiple ones, in many cases).  Many people would have thrown up their hands in the air and despaired of doing anything for these children.  Grace did not; she found placements for thousands of these children, and greatly expanded the range of foster care facilities in the state.  Children and adults in Maryland have every reason to be grateful for the life she lived so well, up until her passing in 2005.  And, both in the interests in full disclosure and illustrating her goodness, I was and am greatful to her for the extended amount of leave she allowed me to have during my late father's final months of life.

Grace would have been very proud of Congresswoman Bush.  As am I.  And, as I do, she would have recognized the need to make a maximum effort to put the needs of the people first.

In the meantime, perhaps we should all pray that Biden's newfound willingness to sail outside of his political comfort zone can extend to making more of a push toward filibuster reform, starting with the two Senators from his own state.

For his sake.  And ours.