Supreme Court Rulings Cannot Stop Government Growth - Political Action Is Required
Source: Chris Bray. "Obtuse GOP Politicians Are Pretending The Courts Will Save Us." February 24, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Republicans are fooling themselves if they think Supreme Court decisions will stop government from getting bigger and more expensive. He says government has been growing for 100 years despite legal rules, so Republicans need to focus on winning political battles instead of hoping courts will save them.
Conclusion
Supreme Court rulings and legal barriers will not stop the continued growth of government power and spending, so Republicans must abandon faith in courts and pursue actual political victory instead
Premises
- Government spending and power have grown relentlessly for a century despite existing legal constraints (federal spending grew from 4% of GDP to 25% of GDP)
- Blue states like California demonstrate that technocratic management leads to massive spending increases with poor results (California's budget grew from $200B to $350B under Newsom)
- The technocratic elite class actively dislikes traditional America and will continue expanding government regardless of court rulings
- Recent examples show the pattern continues - federal spending grew from $2 trillion under Obama to $7 trillion currently
- Republicans like Rand Paul are ineffectively relying on constitutional principles and court decisions while the Left ignores legal constraints
Assumptions
- Past patterns of government growth will continue in the future
- Legal and constitutional constraints have little practical restraining power on determined political actors
- The current political system rewards those who ignore traditional rules over those who follow them
- Government growth is inherently harmful to society and individual freedom