On the SCOTUS' repeal of 100-year-old antitrust law

Still, this decision is obviously very problematic whether or not the economic theory underlying it is correct. Breyer explains it well, but there is a very strong presumption of stare decisis in statutory cases, and this case is an excellent illustration of why. The Court created a bright-line, easily applied rule in 1911. If Congress thought that the Court had distorted its intent it's had roughly 100 years to modify the statute and correct the Court. Moreover, the affected interests here are not (to put it mildly) the kind of disempowered minorities who might lack fair access to the political process. It doesn't make the rule clearer -- which might justify a departure from stare decisis -- but in fact makes it less clear and harder to apply.

Tell me again why we regard the Bush Court as any more legitimate than Cheney’s fourth branch of government?

UPDATE Another way of looking at this is that the Bush Court just took $1000 out of my pocket and gave it to the corps:

During a 38-year period from 1937 to 1975 that Congress permitted the states to adopt laws allowing retail price fixing , economists estimated that such agreements covered about 10 percent of consumer good purchases. In today’s dollars, Justice Breyer estimated that the agreements translated to a higher annual average bill for a family of four of about $750 to $1,000.

Tell me again about those tax cuts, Dear Leader! Your stories make me feel so warm and comfy!