Every time Americans turn inward against each other, it is because of the Supreme Court. From Dred Scott to Roe v. Wade and a variety of points in between, the flaw of our constitutional republic is letting an oligarchy of five black-robed masters impose the morality of Harvard Yard on 350 million of their fellow citizens.
The idea that the GOP would put up a false fight to mollify their base and spare the country from more unrest is crazy. It has been almost fifty years since Roe v Wade polarized the American electorate. Entire lives on the Pro-life side have been spent organizing, rallying, convincing and financing the creation of a political environment where someday, the controlling vote in the Court would be available to flip. And now, at the point where this is actually achievable, we're supposed to be happy with a good, hard fight in the Senate? Absolutely not. Mitch McConnell's message to his caucus to "keep your powder dry" is appropriate. And maybe he will let a couple (even three) Senators' votes peel off in order to appease their home states. But if he knows that he needs one, or two of them to confirm a candidate, he needs to march them into his office and threaten them with a fully-funded primary challenge should they vote against the President. We have come too far to let this slip away now. And the people who have been funding the GOP for decades will openly rebel if the GOP lets this opportunity pass. Now is the time to use the leverage we do have to put the equivalent of a young Thomas on the Court. Anything less that that is completely unacceptable.
Although it is true that pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:8), I don't think GInsburg is responsible for the major battle that will take place over her SCOTUS replacement. Rather, I believe what is responsible is that the Supreme Court for the last 50 years has regularly issued rulings based on the judges political views rather than the letter of the law. Consequently, Chief Justice Roberts' statement that there are no Obama judges and no Trump judges is complete hogwash and both political parties know it.
Our country landed at this point in time because of the set of Republicans who let the Democrats change the courts from a set of judges who issued rulings based upon the Constitution to a court system dedicated to implementing new laws in direct opposition to the Constitution. The failure of the Republicans to stop the politicization of the courts over the last 50 years has allowed the Democrats to implement laws that would never have passed Congress and allowed the Democrats to effectively change the Constitution without the need for a legal amendment.
Starting with the Democrats filibuster of Rehnquist in 1968, the Democrats have made clear that they are playing to win the right to control the courts at all costs, with the smear jobs of Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh being prime examples of how low they will go in an attempt to win the game. The Democrats appear willing to tear down the country because of the consequences of losing an election. But if elections don't determine the political control of our country, we have already ceased to be the country we were founded to be.
I don't believe in a play-to-lose strategy. I think that is folly from both a Biblical and a political perspective. There probably are Senators in the GOP coalition who might prefer to attempt to try to save their own electoral skin by compromising with the Democrats rather than supporting a judicial nominee dedicated to returning the courts to issuing rulings based on the Constitution. But the GOP Senators that previously fell into that category share at least part of the blame for how we got into this judicial mess to begin with.
Yes, the Notorious RBG should have retired pre-trump. Unfortunately, we are now left with a life-long abuser or women choosing the successor of a life-long fighter for women's rights.
This would be an appropriate time for a moderate appointee, one that Murkowski, Collins et al will not deny.
Also, this would be a good time for GOP to re-evaluate their priorities. This would be a good time to faithfully consider, and implement by compromise if still possible . . . to toss a health care life preserver to pandemized Americans, instead of the senatory dignitaries digging their heels into scorched earth with fatcat schemes to deny health care to poor people.
The GOP cannot let Democratic threats of violence stop them from fulfilling their Constitutional prerogative to nominate and confirm a replacement for RBG. I'd be fine with having the final vote after election day if that makes some Republicans more comfortable, but there's no need to delay hearings. The Democrats are going to do whatever they want if they win the Senate regardless of this confirmation, so the only option now is the move forward. If some GOP senators want to abstain from voting to protect their seats, then fine, just don't get in the way.
Was RBG saved???
The idea that the GOP would put up a false fight to mollify their base and spare the country from more unrest is crazy. It has been almost fifty years since Roe v Wade polarized the American electorate. Entire lives on the Pro-life side have been spent organizing, rallying, convincing and financing the creation of a political environment where someday, the controlling vote in the Court would be available to flip. And now, at the point where this is actually achievable, we're supposed to be happy with a good, hard fight in the Senate? Absolutely not. Mitch McConnell's message to his caucus to "keep your powder dry" is appropriate. And maybe he will let a couple (even three) Senators' votes peel off in order to appease their home states. But if he knows that he needs one, or two of them to confirm a candidate, he needs to march them into his office and threaten them with a fully-funded primary challenge should they vote against the President. We have come too far to let this slip away now. And the people who have been funding the GOP for decades will openly rebel if the GOP lets this opportunity pass. Now is the time to use the leverage we do have to put the equivalent of a young Thomas on the Court. Anything less that that is completely unacceptable.
Although it is true that pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:8), I don't think GInsburg is responsible for the major battle that will take place over her SCOTUS replacement. Rather, I believe what is responsible is that the Supreme Court for the last 50 years has regularly issued rulings based on the judges political views rather than the letter of the law. Consequently, Chief Justice Roberts' statement that there are no Obama judges and no Trump judges is complete hogwash and both political parties know it.
Our country landed at this point in time because of the set of Republicans who let the Democrats change the courts from a set of judges who issued rulings based upon the Constitution to a court system dedicated to implementing new laws in direct opposition to the Constitution. The failure of the Republicans to stop the politicization of the courts over the last 50 years has allowed the Democrats to implement laws that would never have passed Congress and allowed the Democrats to effectively change the Constitution without the need for a legal amendment.
Starting with the Democrats filibuster of Rehnquist in 1968, the Democrats have made clear that they are playing to win the right to control the courts at all costs, with the smear jobs of Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh being prime examples of how low they will go in an attempt to win the game. The Democrats appear willing to tear down the country because of the consequences of losing an election. But if elections don't determine the political control of our country, we have already ceased to be the country we were founded to be.
I don't believe in a play-to-lose strategy. I think that is folly from both a Biblical and a political perspective. There probably are Senators in the GOP coalition who might prefer to attempt to try to save their own electoral skin by compromising with the Democrats rather than supporting a judicial nominee dedicated to returning the courts to issuing rulings based on the Constitution. But the GOP Senators that previously fell into that category share at least part of the blame for how we got into this judicial mess to begin with.
Yes, the Notorious RBG should have retired pre-trump. Unfortunately, we are now left with a life-long abuser or women choosing the successor of a life-long fighter for women's rights.
This would be an appropriate time for a moderate appointee, one that Murkowski, Collins et al will not deny.
Also, this would be a good time for GOP to re-evaluate their priorities. This would be a good time to faithfully consider, and implement by compromise if still possible . . . to toss a health care life preserver to pandemized Americans, instead of the senatory dignitaries digging their heels into scorched earth with fatcat schemes to deny health care to poor people.
The GOP cannot let Democratic threats of violence stop them from fulfilling their Constitutional prerogative to nominate and confirm a replacement for RBG. I'd be fine with having the final vote after election day if that makes some Republicans more comfortable, but there's no need to delay hearings. The Democrats are going to do whatever they want if they win the Senate regardless of this confirmation, so the only option now is the move forward. If some GOP senators want to abstain from voting to protect their seats, then fine, just don't get in the way.
sigh. Just when 2020 couldn't get uglier.