I feel the presence of a black woman, promised by Biden, who will have more authority. I feel more depth and maturity here.
I found this interesting in light of this:
https://newsone.com/4031126/myra-selby-amy-coney-barrett-court-controversy/
Can you see what type of reading you can get concerning the Supreme Court about cases involving Trump right now? In particular, any cases Trump may launch to challenge the 2020 election results, whether or not they will pick up Trump's tax case again, and whether or not they will consider the case involving Jean Carroll (Today, the district judge in New York denied Trump's motion to let the State Department represent Trump in Carroll's defamation/rape case against him. Trump tried to claim that his actions of defamation occurred in his capacity as President, so the case needed to be taken to federal court, which would have ended in the case's dismissal).
I have been on pins and needles waiting to see if Trump's tax case will be taken up by the Supreme Court. I hope they don't, because that means Vance gets the tax records, and Trump (being Trump) will tweet threats and probably implicate himself in other crimes, which would be the perfect "October Surprise" for us.
That is very interesting (not to mention infuriating) and along those same lines, in one of Bill Palmer's latest articles, he talks about how Kavanaugh committed provable perjury, and is certain to be charged by a Biden DOJ. I remember a prediction from an earlier set that said, "Kavanaugh will be investigated." Maybe that pertains to a post-Twitler scenario and not his confirmation hearing?
AMEN! Democrats need to not only take power, but they need to make sure that Republicans are never in a position to abuse their power again. Possible avenues are the following:
1. Pass laws that makes it mandatory for Presidential candidates to release taxes before the election. (THIS IS A MUST!!!!!) Also laws on transparency and to ensure their are no more conflicts of interests. I propose they call these laws the "Trump Traitor Laws" or simply "Trump Laws" for short. Make sure we attach his name to something that will forever link Trump to his corruption.
2. Get rid of the gerrymandering that Republicans have used to win districts. From now on, districts must reflect the population of the states. One person=one vote. If this is implemented, Republicans would probably only have maybe a third of all state positions and seats.
3. Add two Justices to the bench to both punish Republicans for the way they stole two seats and to ensure that the court is evenly balanced.
4. Consider adding DC and Puerto Rico as states. This will tick Republicans off, as well as add more seats for Democrats or Independents.
5. STOP APOLOGIZING! We didn't cause this problem. It was Republicans who (1) shut down government and delay aid whenever they want, (2) deny climate change and refuse to take steps to protect our future, (3) in regards to abortion, passing laws that don't protect women who are the victims of rape, incest, or women who would die if forced to continue their pregnancies (Tennessee is one such state, much to my shame), (4) trying to take people's health care and not giving an alternative, (5) refuse to fight Covid-19 to protect lives, and (6) treat the rest of us with utter disrespect and cruelty even when we treat them with kindness (as we did in the Obama years). I say no more! We need to just take the steps we need to take and be proud of them! We need to stop trying to be nice to the Republicans in office. They had their chance, and they refused to be kind. So why should we bend over backward to try to keep from upsetting them. Being kind didn't work, so I say we need to be forceful and show them that their actions is what caused Democrats to take steps to actively take their power away.
6. Consider getting rid of the Electoral College. I don't foresee this happening right away, but it needs to be considered, because it has been another tool on how Republicans keep stealing elections and silencing the voters' will. It happened in 2000 and again in 2016. Why should millions of voters be penalized based on where they live? Shouldn't all votes carry equal weight?
7. Expand our power. Even if Trump is taken out in 2020, many pro-Trump Republicans will try to take back the House and the Senate in 2022. For once, the map favors us, so we need to ensure that every single Pro-Trump Republican is voted out in 2022. This will drive home to Republicans that Trumpism is not how they will survive as a party.
In short, I think Democrats should stack the court but only add two because they can honestly justify the need for two (their seats were stolen because Republicans played a double standard).
@allyn, my intent was to point out that it would be futile to expect we could flip the court merely by waiting for the opportunity to replace justices, because you don't know who would be stepping down. Maybe Thomas would leave due to poor health. But if a liberal justice required replacement, there is no net gain. And administratively removing K or ACB? Wishful thinking at this point. So I'm in agreement with all who propose adding a couple of justices.
In short, I think Democrats should stack the court but only add two because they can honestly justify the need for two (their seats were stolen because Republicans played a double standard).
@allyn, my intent was to point out that it would be futile to expect we could flip the court merely by waiting for the opportunity to replace justices, because you don't know who would be stepping down. Maybe Thomas would leave due to poor health. But if a liberal justice required replacement, there is no net gain. And administratively removing K or ACB? Wishful thinking at this point. So I'm in agreement with all who propose adding a couple of justices.
If I recall correctly, part of the reason that SCOTUS was kept at 9 was that at the time there were 9 federal circuit courts, so there would be one SC justice for each circuit. If that was in fact one of the justifications, there are now 13 FC courts, so adding 4 more SC Justices would not be out of line and would give us a 7-6 majority.
@allyn Remember, even if the democrats win, they will probably only have two years to fix things before the next election will change the senate again. The democrats. also need to get rid of the electoral college and go to popular voting. Will they do it?
@snowbird These would not be replacements, but new, additional justices to SCOTUS. Also, I do not see why replacements must follow the same political orientation of justice replaced. It was clearly not followed with ACB replacing RBG.
So many references to darkness, not just on this site, but today, New Yorker's headline:
Justice Amy Coney Barrett Is Sworn In Under Darkness
"The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is confirmed! ” Chuck Grassely (R) said it as if he were announcing the winner on a game show, and the Republican senators in the room reacted accordingly, standing and cheering. Barrett wasn’t so much the victor as the prize—their prize."
The photo shows Trump grinning like he just got his coup d'état ace in the hole. Wrong.
@allyn Remember, even if the democrats win, they will probably only have two years to fix things before the next election will change the senate again. The democrats. also need to get rid of the electoral college and go to popular voting. Will they do it?
Things are a little better for them this time around. When they lost control of the House and Senate in 2010 it was bad for the same reason it's bad for the Republicans now. They controlled the legislature and the executive, passed a (for the time) controversial health care bill that rallied the base into anger, and then with redistricting reshaped the political landscape for 10 years. The Republicans are in the exact same -- if not worse situation than the Democrats were at that point because at least the ACA, warts and all, has become ingrained in us at this point. I'm not certain how you come back from "kill grandma to save the economy" and injustice like ACB in two short years -- and if they do, redistricting may make it moot. This isn't an "Apples to Apples" comparison, but we're at least comparing tree growing fruits here.
I think they can easily remain safe in 2022 unless they take the right steps in the wrong order. Like I posted elsewhere, putting time and energy into a constitutional amendment like one that might overturn the electoral college, after an election that ideally won't be another Bush v Gore is a good opening move. So is doing everything they can to dismantle citizens united. But moving too quickly on judicial reform could anger the base quickly. They CAN however, remove justices if an investigation is warranted and bears fruit. (Hint: Rhymes with Smavanaugh") It's been done once before for a supreme court justice (others pulled a Nixon and exited to get away from the issue) and operates exactly like impeachment - the House prepares articles, the senate tries them. It's been done many, many, many times for lower court justices as well.
My gut is still telling me not to worry about ACB in the long run. Can't tell you why, but I trust it.