By Don Terry | Thursday May 07 2026 | 5 min read

The question isn’t whether the Supreme Court has become political. That debate is already settled in the minds of millions of Americans. The real question now is more unsettling: what, if anything, can be done about it—and who is willing to try?

A recent opinion piece in The New York Times left many readers with a lingering sense of unease. Not because it revealed something entirely new, but because it connected dots people had long suspected were there. When you step back and look at the arc—from Bush v. Gore to the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, to the expansion of corporate money in politics, and now to presidential immunity—it becomes harder to see these rulings as isolated decisions. They begin to look like a pattern.

Start with Bush v. Gore. In that moment, the Court effectively decided a presidential election, halting a recount and handing victory to George W. Bush despite Al Gore winning the popular vote. It was described at the time as a one-off, a constitutional emergency. But it set a precedent: the Court could step directly into the political arena and shape outcomes.

From there, the trajectory only became clearer. The weakening of the Voting Rights Act signaled a growing skepticism—if not hostility—toward federal protections for minority voters. Then came decisions that opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending, fundamentally altering the political landscape and empowering billionaires to exert outsized influence.

How the Supreme Court’s Louisiana districting decision weakens the Voting Rights Act

Now, with rulings that expand presidential immunity, the stakes feel even higher. Critics are asking a blunt question: what exactly is the Court trying to protect? The presidency as an institution—or the individuals who wield its power?

It’s impossible to ignore the backdrop of January 6. Americans watched, in real time, as the Capitol was attacked. The images were undeniable. Yet in the years since, there has been a noticeable effort in some quarters to downplay or reframe what happened. That disconnect—between what people saw and what they’re now being told—has deepened distrust, not just in politicians, but in institutions that are supposed to stand above politics.

At the same time, reports of ethical concerns surrounding some justices have only fueled suspicion. Investigations have revealed that Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors, including Republican donor Harlan Crow. These aren’t minor lapses in judgment; they raise serious questions about influence, access, and accountability. In any other branch of government, such revelations might trigger swift investigations. Here, the response has been muted.

That silence is part of the problem.

The Supreme Court was designed to be insulated from politics, not intertwined with it. Lifetime appointments were meant to protect judicial independence—not to create a body that operates without meaningful oversight. When justices appear untouchable, confidence in the Court erodes. And when confidence erodes, so does the legitimacy of its decisions.

So who steps in?

If one branch of government drifts too far from public trust, the others are supposed to act as a check. But that only works if there is the political will to do so. And right now, that will feels uncertain.

With Donald Trump back in power, it’s difficult to imagine any serious effort to scrutinize the Court. If anything, the opposite seems more likely—further consolidation of power, fewer constraints, and even less accountability.

That leaves the burden on a future administration willing to confront the issue head-on.

But rhetoric won’t be enough. Restoring trust requires action. That could mean enforcing stricter ethics rules for justices, increasing transparency around their financial dealings, or even revisiting the structure of the Court itself. None of these steps are easy, and all would face fierce opposition. But avoiding the conversation altogether is no longer an option.

This is where the idea of R.A.G.E.—Restore America. Guard Elections.—comes into focus. Not as a slogan, but as a framework. The anger many Americans feel isn’t abstract. It’s rooted in a sense that the rules are no longer applied evenly, that power is being protected rather than checked.

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But anger, by itself, isn’t a strategy. It has to be channeled into something constructive—into organizing, voting, and demanding accountability from leaders who claim to represent the public.

Winning the next election will matter. But it won’t be sufficient. The deeper challenge is rebuilding institutions that people can believe in again. That means choosing leaders who are not just politically effective, but ethically unassailable—individuals whose integrity can withstand scrutiny and whose decisions cannot be easily dismissed as partisan.

Because if there’s one lesson from the past two decades, it’s this: once trust in institutions begins to crack, it doesn’t take much for those cracks to spread.

The Supreme Court may not be on the ballot. But the future of its legitimacy is.

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