Supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday evening. Her death leaves the court with eight members just weeks before it starts its new term and raises the possibility that the court’s balance of power could shift further to the right. As messages of grief and gratitude for her life and career swept the country, millions of citizens now realize what the liberal icon’s death means for the Supreme Court and an already jittery nation.
What SHOULD happen is Mitch McConnell and the Reepo Senate ought to adhere to the late justice's wishes, i.e. no filling of her seat until the new president is seated in January. That was Justice Ginsburg's wish and it ought to be honored.
But we know the Reeps lack any sense of decorum or decency so no surprise to learn Friday night McConnell said that he would seek to
confirm any Supreme Court nominee that Trump puts forward, We also know last week Trump added 20 more
names to his list of potential Supreme Court nominees, all of
them with views sharply to the right of Justice Ginsburg. Trump’s list of
potential Supreme Court nominees includes three Republican senators: Josh
Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas. All of them disasters especially Cotton who not long ago wrote a rabid op ed in the NY Times arguing for use of active military in protests. This is not a guy we want on the highest court.
This is also given the matter of serious long term ramifications. Some of which we've already seen include repealing aspects of the Voting Rights Act, rolling back union protections as well as making it easier to fire older workers, and going after women's reproductive rights including abortion. Make no mistake a 6-3 rightist court would be a living grotesque nightmare, not just for people of color, but for women and many other citizens.
Further, just take a look at the cases looming on the Court's future docket, including: the future of the Affordable Care Act, issues of separation of church and state, and congressional access to grand jury materials. A Supreme Court finalized at 6-3 for the Right could also play a role in litigation of any contested elections, with the potential to give the benefit of the doubt to Trump's lawyers over Biden's. That is the ultimate near future nightmare scenario.
In any case, any majority conservative Supreme Court could affect the lives of literally millions of Americans for decades, if not generations - on matter ranging from abortion to health care to the role of religion in public life. To put it in blunt terms, this is the outcome the Right has been salivating over for nearly 50 years.
We cannot let the bastards win, especially as it looks more and more likely the Dems can take the presidency as well as the Senate.
So Dems have to fight like junkyard dogs to ensure McConnell doesn't get to stuff some walking turd like Tom Cotton onto the court before inauguration day. They need to use every procedural device in the book to delay, and maybe off the books. (Preventing a vote for extension of gov't funding, as Sen. Mazie Horono suggested on ALL IN.) If nothing can be done to stop the rush to torpedo Justice Ginsburg's wishes now then a retributional response can be done - assuming Dems win the presidency and Senate. That means killing the filibuster, and packing the court - maybe up to 15 members, with 9 Dem picks. As Janice put it: "It's time now we learn to fight like they do!" Agreed!
What they - or we- can't do, is go quietly into that dark night.
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