After they've taken over the courts, will the Republicans even need to win elections any more?

[Yavin4]

Is Judge Barrett the Republicans' endgame? Is putting conservative judges on the federal bench the entire reason why the Republicans put up with Trump and his mouth-breather base?

And now that it's complete, do the Republicans even need to win elections any more? Anything that the Democrats and Progressives want to do on health care, the economy, education, labor, social justice, you name it, the conservative court can strike it down for generations.

So, the Dems can blow out the Republicans in the coming elections, take over congress and the Whitehouse, but will it be an empty victory?

See Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's presentation today:

[Thekaspervote]

1. So we have our work cut out for us. They may seem the all powerful. Dems will not sit quietly by

Next year and watch every piece of hard fought legislation threatened with being overturned in the court!

[bamagal62]

2. Yep. If we win, we have to continue to fight.

[kurtcagle]

3. Nope

The thing about judge packing is both that it goes both ways and that not all judges are equal. There have been a number of judges that were appointed by Trump that proceeded to vote against him when it counted. Additionally, should Biden/Harris get eight years in office, much of the damage will be undone. Moreover, judges typically tend to become more centrist over time. That's not to say that the current situation is good, and I think increasing the number of judges to 15 is actually a very good idea for many reasons, but I don't believe that the sky is going to fall because of the judiciary.

[Yavin4]

4. Did you watch Senator Whitehouse's presentation?

If not, please do. Watch it in its entirety.

[Big Blue Marble]

6. Everyone should take the time to watch this presentation.

It is brilliant.

[Ponietz]

7. Clear you didn't watch the video before commenting

[Big Blue Marble]

5. Under the constitution,

the Congress is give authority to determine much about how the courts operate including funding
and what they can adjudicate. Ultimately, if the court swings too far right to fit the consensus of
the country, their opinions will be nullified one way or the other. Not all democracies grant a supreme
court the authority that we have seeded to ours.

Remember they are the final authority, only because we say they they are.

[LiberalFighter]

8. There needs to be a review board.

If judges pass rulings or opinions that are out of line or corrupt they need to be impeached and removed.

[ecstatic]

9. There comes a point when the court will have lost legitimacy and become irrelevant

This idea that they can pack the courts and overrule the majority for the next 30 years is complete nonsense!

[Thekaspervote]

10. There are other ways to reign in a now politicized judiciary that would be more effective

Two law professors, Ryan Doerfler of the University of Chicago and Samuel Moyn of Yale, recently released a paper laying out a way to “democratize” the Supreme Court by weakening its ability to strike down federal laws as unconstitutional (an ability usually referred to as “judicial review”). In order to pass transformative progressive legislation like Medicare-for-all or a Green New Deal and ensure the Court does not tamper with them, Doerfler and Moyn propose either stripping the Court of jurisdiction over certain legislation or imposing a supermajority requirement under which a 7-2 majority would be required for the Court to overturn acts of Congress


https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21451471/supreme-court-justice-constitution-ryan-doerfler

And why not, it take 60 votes in the senate to impeach.

Also, term limits have been suggested possibly 12 years.

[kairos12]

11. NO. They have played the long game on this one and completely outclassed the Dems.

[Crunchy Frog]

12. I've been wondering myself if the SC will begin acting as a dictator.

Also, will they completely lose legitimacy if they do, and what happens next?

It will be interesting to see what will happen if some line gets crossed.

[Xolodno]

13. Lets ask the Federalist Party....

...oh wait, they are extinct. They packed the court with their judges before Jefferson took over...if memory serves me, some literally right before midnight. Jefferson tried to remove them, but lost out and just worked around the problem.

And then there is this problem, Supreme Court makes a ruling, and the Executive decides to ignore, excuse me, work on ways to implement it....slowly. The Supreme Court has always been the weakest branch of Government....shit, the Federal Reserve, which should be a fourth branch if you ask me, has more power. Interestingly, Andrew Johnson who eliminated the first National Bank often just took Supreme Court Decisions as advisement....you could call him our first Trump. Compliance to the courts takes a long time....and as much I dislike the Star Wars Prequels (actually Revenge of the Sith isn't bad and taken in context with Clone War series, makes a lot of sense), George Lucas had a point when the Trade Federation invaded Naboo by implying the Courts were ineffective.

Every once in awhile, they have to make a ruling of major political consequence and has immediate consequences. These are the decisions they don't want to be part of. It draws attention to them. And those brief moments are when they change the course of the country. Which is why Mitch is trying to pack the court, those rare decisions.

However, the decisions of the courts are respected. It's considered for the most part, the best unbiased decision maker. With that said, Moscow Mitch in his rush to make sure conservative decisions rule for a decade or two....has also undermined the respect of an unbiased court. He politicized the institution that hasn't seen that level since FDR. It's why I think Roberts occasionally takes a step back to look at the bigger picture and sides with us. His job got a lot harder.

But don't despair too much, both Alito and Thomas are 70+. Have to think Biden is weighing this and willing to hold out unless it looks like shit will hit the fan and we get a GOP dominated Senate. And if we get a D Senate, its unlikely to change for at least four years given they serve six year terms.

[JI7]

14. Boycotts can work and Demographic changes favor Democrats . WE need to win elections

[regnaD kciN]

15. What's an "election"...?

Seriously, after the Handmaid gets on the Court, I would expect 45 to postpone all federal elections, until...well, basically forever.