Even the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was critical of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that declared abortion a constitutional right. While she supported a woman’s right to choose, Ginsburg argued that winning over state legislatures would put choice on a more solid footing. She was right. Seeking to short-circuit the legislative process with an appeal to the Supreme Court put abortion rights on a shaky foundation. The shortcut proved more corrosive than using the constitutional process bypassed by Roe would have been.
Nor was the desire for a shortcut on abortion the first time political impatience blew up in a way those advocating a shortcut never imagined. Democrats resent their Republican counterparts for forcing through three Supreme Court picks during the Trump administration on purely partisan votes. In 2013, however, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid embraced the “nuclear option” and changed the rules to proceed to a full vote on judicial nominees with only 51 votes rather than the previous 60. Reid acted out of frustration with Republican filibustering of President Barack Obama’s appointees. For Reid, it was easier to change the rules than find consensus candidates whose merits might transcend party loyalty. It might seem Pollyanna-ish to believe such picks could exist, but it was the practice for decades, promotes moderation, and is the basis for the checks and balances at the heart of the system of co-equal branches of government.
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Impatience also undercuts national security. Obama’s signature foreign policy initiative was the 2015 JCPOA accord that his team described as a landmark deal to end Iran’s nuclear threat. Rather than consider and address Republican concerns, Obama short-circuited the process to avoid any ratification process (let alone even the need to acquire a majority vote). Certainly, had he put the nuclear deal to a vote, it might have failed. But separation of powers requires consultation; getting one’s way is not preordained. Shortcuts to implement the nuclear deal served to undercut international nonproliferation and led Iran policy into a morass from which it has never emerged. There would have been worse things than failure. After all, the Senate’s rejection of SALT-II defined a standard that led to more comprehensive and stringent arms control accords over the following decade.
The Biden administration’s approach to Saudi Arabia reflects the same strategic impatience. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman implements reforms demanded for decades, yet Biden responds with opprobrium to Mohammed’s failure to transform instantly Saudi Arabia from an absolute monarchy into a liberal oasis.
Nor is the problem only among politicians. Consider immigration and demands for equity: Immigrants once understood that the American dream was a multigenerational struggle that demanded sacrifice by earlier generations for the education and advancement of children and grandchildren. There was no expectation of instant gratification or material success. Today, however, big government liberals argue the failure to achieve in years what takes decades is both evidence of systematic discrimination and the need for expanded government.
Cable television, the internet, and social media might have changed attention spans and focus, but there are no shortcuts. The Founding Fathers were wise and the system they handed down brilliant. America is at its best politically, strategically, and socially when neither politicians nor the public cut corners, expect instant gratification, or believe they can bypass dissent with sleight-of-hand or procedural shortcuts.
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Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
