Noted Segregationist William Rehnquist [TEASER]

This is my favorite anecdote about any Supreme Court justice ever.

Hey, everyone, this is Leon from Fiasco and Prologue Projects.

On this premium episode of 5-4, Peter, Rhiannon, and Michael are talking about former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Rehnquist was appointed on the eve of the court's post-Warren era shift to the right.

In the 1970s and early 80s, Rehnquist repeatedly failed to persuade often anyone else on the court that state sovereignty could trump federal congressional power.

But by the 1990s, he had a five-justice majority that was striking down federal laws right and left for stepping on the toes of the states.

His federalism gave him cover for rolling back gains of the civil rights movement.

But as you'll hear, Rehnquist's objection to equal rights wasn't simply principled opposition to big government.

It was also a deeply held personal belief.

This is 5-4, a podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks.

sucks.

Welcome to 5-4, where we dissect and analyze the Supreme Court cases that have left our rights brittle and stale, like your aging Easter candy.

I'm Peter.

I'm here with Michael.

Hey, everybody.

And Rhiannon.

R.I.P.

Jesus.

Yeah, a real one.

We lost a real one.

Everyone is always a little bit annoyed that we're always like a week behind the ball with our metaphors.

Yeah.

Not this time.

Because we record a week in advance.

Not this time, because I know

that Easter's coming up and this will be coming out shortly after Easter.

Yeah, that's right.

Highly relevant.

And our analytics show us that most of our listeners are devout practicing Christians.

Absolutely obsessed with Jesus, the man, the myth, the legend.

This week, premium episode, of course, and we are talking about Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Yeah.

Rehnquist was the Chief Justice before John Roberts and oversaw the court during the first phase of its strong reactionary shift following the civil rights era.

He was deeply conservative and helped lead the charge to roll back the jurisprudence of the Warren Court on abortion, criminal defense, federal power, and a host of other issues.

Also,

he was a segregationist.

Yeah.

Or as it is said in Spanish.

Oh.

Un segregacionista.

Nice.

Yeah.

My wife and I are plotting out honeymoons, and we're not sure where we're going yet, but we're going to land in a Spanish-speaking country.

Okay.

So I'm going to get my Duolingo rolling.

Yeah.

And I thought, why not learn some Rehnquist adjacent terms?

Sure.

And you're starting with Muzzy.

Remember that?

What?

What is Muzzy?

I am aware of that as only a slur for Muslims.

He's a big blue monster who teaches you Spanish.

Oh, no, I never heard of that.

That was like little cartoons.

No.

No.

That's disappointing.

Oh, well.

All right.

This fact that Rehnquist was a segregationist is relatively undercovered in American media.

Maybe because admitting that the most powerful legal figure in the country until 2005 was a segregationist is a little too like staring your demons in the face for our nation to handle.

Perhaps.

But that is the space where we here at 5-4 thrive.

Yeah, this is really where we flourish.

So we're going to talk about it.

That's right.

But first, what I imagine is some star sign shit from Re.

Yeah, that's right.

And you're welcome.

First of all, thank you.

Big shout out to our soldiers on the ground, 5-4 soldiers who were out today trying to help me figure out William William Rehnquist's birth chart.

I had people putting me in touch with descendants of Scalia.

We did track down a granddaughter of William Rehnquist.

She has not responded to my requests, but you know what?

I might have figured this out anyway.

William Rehnquist, absolute total dipshit, born in October 1924.

This is...

this guy was old before the Great Depression.

Anyways, he's a Libra son.

He is a Scorpio moon and likely a Sagittarius rising.

Can you believe it, boys?

I cannot.

A Scorpio Moon?

I can see from your notes that Scorpio Moon is something of significance.

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