It may come down to Roberts and Barrett

The United States is in grave danger, and by extension so is the rest of the free world. Among the most cherished items under threat is the U.S. Constitution. The ultimate protector of the constitutional system is the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court's authority is about to be challenged like never before, or at least not in a couple of centuries.

Will the folks in the black muumuus save us from dictatorship? Will they even try? This week's ruling on Mudface Caligula's foreign aid freeze may provide a clue. It appears that four of the Justices are prepared to let the country slide right into banana republic status, and that three will fight that to the death. But it takes five votes on the Court to make a ruling, and that leaves the two who could make the difference: the Chief Justice, John Roberts, and the last of the Trump appointees so far, Amy Coney Barrett.

I do not trust either of them to do the right thing. Roberts just turned 70, has never been the healthiest guy in the room, and doesn't need a lot more aggravation. For him to stay on, and endure all the crap that the White House will throw at him? It's a lot to ask. And if he retires, his replacement on the bench will be one of our self-proclaimed king's flunkies, you can be sure of that.

Barrett, who's been put on the High Court to advance the Catholic handmaid agenda, may have a mind of her own on the separation of powers, but she'll have to stand up to colleagues like Alito and Kavanaugh when the bullying starts in earnest. I would not bet on her winning the staring contests, even if her heart's in the right place.

In any event, decision time is looming for those two. Eventually they could become the most important people of the 21st Century. Or bums, just like so many others.