The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

When the U.S. Supreme Court allows for the possibility of elections being managed by the President, not the states as the Constitution declares, and the President can destroy the “peoples house” to build an edifice of his choosing, the Supreme Court is guilty of activism replacing the “rule of law” that is the foundation of our democracy with “rule by men.”

One only has to look at the Citizens United decision claiming corporations are people that ushered in unlimited dark money to buy a government serving a chosen few. In Trump v. United States, conservative justices said the president has immunity from criminal prosecution for any  official acts while in office.

Trump has claimed, “I have the right to do anything I want,” including sending troops to any city in any state. He mused that possibly the American people wanted a dictator, not a president. He even said he wanted to be a dictator on day one of his presidency.

The Supreme Court actions have tilted our Constitution from a nation ruled by laws to a nation ruled by men. It used to be that no one was above the law and especially not the president. No longer is that the case.

The Supreme Court ruling that there was absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for all the official acts of the president allows all future presidents to act with impunity as long as they claim whatever they did was an official act.

The Constitution says nothing about presidential immunity and makes clear that the founders wanted to avoid granting the president the powers of a monarch. Congress must pass reform laws removing unlimited presidential power and immunity. Limits must be placed on presidential pardons.

Today we have thirteen federal circuits but only nine justices. The Court no longer protects us from the political activism that a small majority has imposed upon our judicial system. Congress should increase the number of justices to thirteen to match the thirteen federal court circuits

They should impose a “code of conduct” preventing justices from accepting gifts of any kind or value. Justices should be limited to one term of no more than 10 years.. Mandatory retirement at age 70.

Political activism by the Supreme Court must be ended. The Constitution demands the Supreme Court abandon its “unitary executive power” ideology, uphold the three coequal branches of government and enforce the “rule of law,” not the “rule by men.”

Hanson, of Elkhorn, is a member of the Walworth County Democratic Party.