I spend almost no time on Twitter/X anymore. It gets grottier and nastier every day. I still publicize First Draft posts there, which means I still get vicious replies, especially about my Dorothy Thompson On Who Goes Nazi post. They don’t like being called Nazis, but I call it like I see it. They’re Nazis or at the very least Fascist Fellow Travelers.

The new Vice President hasn’t been given much to do. The Kaiser of Chaos and Chancellor Musk are hogging the spotlight and they’re loathe to share with a mere Veep.

Vance’s most noteworthy moment was when he broke the tie on Dirty Hands Hegseth’s nomination vote. Otherwise, JD has been publicly quiescent. That’s a fancy way of saying he’s been sidelined.

It turns out that the majority of the Vice President’s time is spent on the couch tweeting or whatever the hell they call it now. Most of his content is right-wing boilerplate intended to whip the MAGA masses into a frenzy. This activity took a more sinister turn this week:

JD is irked that federal judges have the audacity to stand up to Trump Regime Mach-Two. It’s called judicial review, ass wipe. It’s been around since 1803. Surely, Vance studied Marbury vs. Madison in his 1L Con Law class. I certainly did. If they teach it at Tulane Law, they teach it at Yale: Boola Boola and all that jazz.

Vance’s menacing missive seemingly sets the stage for massive resistance by the Trump regime to the federal judiciary. I used the term massive resistance deliberately to evoke the refusal of Southern whites to comply with Brown vs. Board. of Education. This is the same sort of resistance by the same sort of white supremacists who have exchanged their Klan hoods for MAGA caps.

I mention white supremacists because ending birthright citizenship is a page from their playbook. It’s not something the Federalist Society has advocated in the past, but I expect that to change now that the White House has chimed in. These are perilous and deeply stupid times.

Unlike Congress, the federal judiciary seems ready and willing to defend their constitutional prerogatives. Whether they’re able to enforce their rulings is a different matter. Typically, defendants are hauled into court for contempt hearings. Team Trump may start boycotting these, which makes the US Marshals service the last line of defense. Who will they obey? Federal judges or the executive branch? Your guess is as good as mine.

Holy constitutional crisis, Batman.

None of this is remotely conservative, it’s batshit crazy right-wing crapola. Yet the media and many people on our side insist on calling them conservatives when they’re really dangerous extremists. Friends don’t let friends call them conservatives.

One reason for my insistence on this distinction between right-wing radicals and genuine conservatives are people like US District Judge John C. Coughenour. He’s an 84-year-old Reagan appointee who enjoined enforcement of the specious attack on birthright citizenship:

It has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom, and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.”

That’s a judge worthy of calling your honor.

JD Vance, however, has no honor. He’s gone from calling Trump an American Hitler to sieg heiling an Insult Comedian with a dead nutria pelt atop his head. It’s all about the power he hopes to wield if he becomes president. Let’s hope that day never comes.

The last word is dedicated to Judge Coughenour. It goes to Lone Justice: