‘SCOTUS is Killing America’: Democrats Lose It on Twitter Over ‘Radical Right-Wing’ Court’s EPA Ruling
Chip Somodevilla,. Getty Images
Democrats lit up social media on Thursday over the Supreme Court’s decision on an EPA case, blasting it as a threat to life on earth by a “radical” court and “far right” conservative justices.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer put out a statement immediately after the opinion was published, saying that the “MAGA, regressive, extremist” court is taking America back to the time of “robber barons.”
The White House issued a statement calling the decision “devastating” and promising to “study the ruling carefully” for ways to “move forward” despite it. EPA’s Michael S. Regan also released an official statement.
Former President Barack Obama weighed in with a measured reaction calling the decision a “step backward.”
No challenge poses a greater threat to our future than a changing climate. Every day, we’re feeling the impact of climate change, and today’s Supreme Court decision is a major step backward.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 30, 2022
And then social media lit up brighter than a coal plant powering a munitions factory on New Year’s Eve at high noon as elected Democrats went off on the Supreme Court.
Leader of the Green New Deal agenda Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the decision “catastrophic,” and said filibuster carveouts — which President Joe Biden advocated earlier on Thursday — aren’t enough. “We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet.”
Catastrophic. A filibuster carveout is not enough. We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet. https://t.co/if8PIbfs42
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 30, 2022
The tweets came fast and furious after that, with words like radical, extremist, and illegitimate appearing quite a number of times. Party leaders like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz were among those going directly and specifically at the court itself.
Our planet is on fire, and this extremist Supreme Court has destroyed the federal government’s ability to fight back.
This radical Supreme Court is increasingly facing a legitimacy crisis, and we can’t let them have the last word.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 30, 2022
A radical #SCOTUS continues to strike down progress towards a more just and cleaner planet. A livable climate, a women’s right to control her body, and the health and safety of our most at-risk communities are all under attack by this extremist Supreme Court. https://t.co/IJnzaEKQgN
— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) June 30, 2022
Rep. Cori Bush called it “inhumane” and slammed the Supreme Court as “a rogue, illegitimate court that puts the future of ALL our communities at risk.”
Today’s WV vs. EPA decision is a direct attack that will fuel the climate crisis and will threaten our health and safety in St. Louis.
We will not stand for another inhumane action by a rogue, illegitimate court that puts the future of ALL our communities at risk. https://t.co/u8veDIHi2v
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) June 30, 2022
Other tweets included phrases like “dark and dangerous forces” (Rep. Antonio Delgado) and “defies the will of the people” (Rep. Eric Swalwell). Rep. Ro Khanna argumed that it’s “Time to put everything on the table” to stop the conservatives on the court.
Once again, the radical Supreme Court conservatives are taking up a case that could EXPAND states’ power to trample on voting rights. Our vote is our voice – and Republicans who want to get rid of our voices know that too. https://t.co/VFnzx4xXhO
— Congresswoman Nikema Williams (@RepNikema) June 30, 2022
Once again, this Supreme Court is on the wrong side of history.
The same dark and dangerous forces that support these rulings against the American people and our planet are seeking power in NY. @KathyHochul and I will fight like hell to protect our air and clean drinking water. https://t.co/iI0ZH4Zdxu
— Antonio Delgado (@DelgadoforNY) June 30, 2022
Today’s SCOTUS decision is another ruling that defies the will of the people & endangers future generations. The Court’s conservative majority is putting polluters over people by narrowing the authority of the @EPA. Congress must take climate action now!https://t.co/oY0vvb6sDL
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 30, 2022
Today’s decision by the far-right Supreme Court nuking the EPA’s ability to regulate climate change puts us all in jeopardy.
If we’re serious about saving the planet, we’ve got to expand the Supreme Court.
— Rep. Mondaire Jones (@RepMondaire) June 30, 2022
Once again ideology trumps reality as this extreme court chips away at EPA’s ability to address climate change in WV v. EPA. 🧵 https://t.co/sLZHy0IFjL
— Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) June 30, 2022
There may be no decision in recent memory that will do more to cripple the federal government’s ability to protect the health and safety of every American than the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia vs EPA, which represents judicial malpractice. My statement on this below: pic.twitter.com/gixSNcGcRu
— Rep. Ritchie Torres (@RepRitchie) June 30, 2022
Our nation sees the impacts of climate change & this radical Supreme Court has limited the @EPA‘s authority to combat carbon emissions. Americans deserve clean air to breath and clean water to drink.
End the Senate filibuster and pass climate protections! https://t.co/d2zDm4XKhS
— Rep. John Larson (@RepJohnLarson) June 30, 2022
With each passing day, the radical Supreme Court makes ever clearer how far they have fallen.
Today’s decision undoes EPA authority, undermining their congressionally mandated power by prohibiting them from broadly regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
1/3https://t.co/NHS5T3WY4W— Paul Tonko ⚫️ (@RepPaulTonko) June 30, 2022
The radical right-wing court has decided that our children don’t deserve a future on this planet.
By eliminating the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions the court is promoting more climate change.
Congress must right this wrong. https://t.co/gyGJcU40H1
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) June 30, 2022
With today’s WV v. EPA ruling, SCOTUS ends their 2022 term by forcing women to bring children into an uninhabitable world.
— Sara Jacobs (@SaraJacobsCA) June 30, 2022
The Supreme Court just gutted the EPA’s ability to keep our air clean. The MAGA majority on the court sided with corporate polluters over the health of the public and the planet.
Congress must right this wrong by passing climate legislation NOW.
— Jeff Merkley (@JeffMerkley) June 30, 2022
The right-wing Trump Supreme Court issued a decision limiting EPA’s ability to regulate emissions contributing to the climate crisis. SCOTUS siding with polluters & climate deniers will result in an acceleration of climate change and will negatively impact the health of millions. https://t.co/FjgzayUv9v
— Rep. Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04) June 30, 2022
Six right wing extremists on SCOTUS have dismantled the EPA’s ability to fight climate change by taking away their ability to devise emission caps based on the Clean Air Act.
This is a crisis of legitimacy. Time to put everything on the table. Term limits for justices. Now.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) June 30, 2022
The far-right Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA will undermine our efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and risks the health and safety of our communities.
We ought to be doing all we can to protect our environment, not empowering big polluters.
— James E. Clyburn (@WhipClyburn) June 30, 2022
Sadly, WV v EPA is exactly what big donors who packed the Court wanted: “advisory opinion” sets up new “major questions” doctrine, giving regulated polluters a new hammer.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 30, 2022
They’d also given big polluters the right to spend anonymous unlimited money in politics, to block climate action in Congress. It’s a two-fer for the big climate polluters, and another huge illegitimate power grab by the FedSoc Six.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 30, 2022
New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone of the Congressional Recycling Caucus interestingly claimed that the decision makes a “mockery of the clear separation of powers outlined in the constitution,” and undermines the “right to clean, safe air.”
Today’s Supreme Court decision makes a mockery of the clear separation of powers outlined in the Constitution and subverts decades of settled law.
Read my entire statement on the Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA here ⬇️ https://t.co/du4KzmoNeJ
— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) June 30, 2022
There is no doubt that this decision is the result of years of coordinated, calculated efforts by Republicans and polluting special interests to undermine Americans’ right to clean, safe air.
— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) June 30, 2022
New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman perhaps had the most succinct summary of the position most Democrats are taking on all of the Supreme Court’s recent actions.
SCOTUS has just gutted EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
They are trying to stop the federal government from regulating in the public interest, and they have declared that corporate profits are more important than our lives.
SCOTUS is killing America.
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) June 30, 2022
Or even more directly, from the New Republic’s climate writer Kate Aronoff, in a tweet retweeted by AOC.
Minority rule in the United States is a threat to life on earth
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) June 30, 2022
“SCOTUS is killing America,” Rep. Bowman wrote of the court ruling that the executive does not have the authority it asserted on a particular point.
That does seem to be the message Democrats want voters to think about in November instead of gas prices or inflation.
