Okay so here are my thoughts on the Federalist Society. I may lose some followers but that's how it goes.

I know many of my conservative friends are members and I view that as sort of a stain on their soul. /1

There is this tongue-in-cheek thing the FedSoc says about how it is a simple debating society and they don’t take any position on anything. But that’s just a cover story. They clearly have a point of view. Their position is basically pro-“conservative views.” /2

“Conservative views” is general enough that there’s some sense in the “no positions” policy. Some conservatives might be against LGBTQ discrimination as an individual rights issue, others might see the right to discriminate as a religious freedom issue. /3

There’s no reason to take a side when both are in the “conservative” tent. But “conservative views” almost always go hand-in-hand with “Republican views.” And “Republican views” lately has meant no more and no less than supporting Donald Trump at all costs. /4

Without trying to list everything over the past several years, that includes supporting lies about the election, attempts to overturn it, inciting an attack on the Capitol, plotting a coup--that’s just the last couple of months. /5

The line between “conservative” and Republican views is blurry enough that not taking a position is itself a position: that "Republican views" are a legitimate part of the conservative tent. /6

Some members oppose violently overthrowing the government; some cheer it on; some participate. Who's to say who's right? It's our policy not to take sides. /7

So back to my friends. I can see why they joined. If nothing else, it gave them the opportunity to meet people, including judges and others in power, who have some of the same views. It may even have opened some doors for them. /8

I’ve heard them say things like “I go to the national convention because I like to see my friends.” I get that too.

But being a member of a club makes you, well, a member of that club. /9

You’re in there with Scalia and Gorsuch and the friends you see at the convention, but also Cruz and Hawley and many others--you know better than I do--who enabled the abuses of the Trump administration. The club is all of you and you are the club. /10

I try to imagine what I would do--if the club included me, my friends, and people who tacitly or actively supported an attempt to undermine our democracy. And if the whole point of the club were for people with similar points of view to meet. /11

Oh, and the rules were that the club would never condemn those people. They would never say that it's a club of diverse views, but trying to overthrow the government is not welcome.

I just can’t see how anyone could justify it. /12

That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. But I worry about your soul.

/x