After RBG…
9/24/20
Throughout the tenure of the Trump administration, Republicans have repeatedly used the rules of the congress to put party over country. Now, in the effort to fast-track the replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we’re seeing yet another example. The Republican objective is clear: to stack the Supreme Court with jurists committed to overturning Roe v. Wade and Obamacare — two actions that the Republicans haven’t been able to accomplish legislatively. Now they’re trying to achieve this end through the judiciary, all the while publicly condemning “activist judges.” On both of those issues, Republicans hold views that aren’t supported by the majority of Americans. And yet, the litmus test used to screen prospective appointees to the top court makes overturning these precedents more likely than not. As a country, we’ve fallen far when the will of the people is so cravenly discarded for the sake of a political victory.
I don’t know that I’ve ever been this dispirited. The passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the subsequent rush to confirm a replacement jurist reveals the Republicans’ duplicitous hypocrisy so starkly, it’s breathtaking. Republicans often fault the Democrats for starting the ball rolling on the lack of comity in the legislative branch citing the rejection of Robert Bork as justice on the Supreme Court, but that reading of history is more than debatable. The Senate has the constitutional duty to advise and consent, and it’s not unreasonable for senators to use that authority to withhold consent for a candidate who expresses views that conflict with their own sensibilities. Bork was clearly a divisive and controversial candidate. Instead of offering a more moderate nominee, Reagan used Bork to push an agenda. The Bork confirmation hearing was a fight that didn’t have to happen. In any case, the Republicans brought on that fight, and the Democrats were in their right to vote their consciences.
The Republican perspective notwithstanding, Mitch McConnell’s position with respect to the @MerrickGarland nomination was far worse than anything the Democrats had been accused of even by their staunchest critics. If @MitchMcConnell had philosophical differences with Garland, he was free to vote against him and to encourage others to do so, but to prevent the Senate from even holding hearings effectively obstructed Obama’s constitutional mandate, marking a serious departure from constitutional norms and practices but also a new low in political infighting — only to be surpassed by his latest gambit of changing the rules yet again.
It’s telling that when Obama offered his nomination for Garland, he chose someone who was recognized as a moderate; and, in fact, many liberals faulted Obama for being overly accommodative. Of course, the quality of the Garland nomination was never at issue under McConnell’s leadership in the Senate. The only concern was denying a seat to Obama. No one would have been acceptable. That’s the setup to the current situation. With the Republicans setting the precedent, it’s now just the Democrats turn to repay the favor with a monolithic response to whoever Trump’s nominee happens to be.
McConnell justifies the reversal of his prior position and his urgency to seat a new justice by making the distinction that Republicans now hold both the White house and the Senate. Somehow, under these conditions Americans should no longer have a choice in the selection of the next supreme court justice, when last time around, this principle was seen by Republicans as sacrosanct. Given who McConnell has proven himself to be, this U-turn may not be surprising; but what’s stunning — and distressing — is how many Republicans seem ready to fall in line and embrace the umbrella of hypocrisy. At last count, it looks like 51. Profiles in courage? Not.
Assuming the Republicans railroad this nomination through, as seems all but inevitable, the Democrats have pledged that everything would be on the table. That list includes the prospects of adding two more justices to the Supreme Court, making Washington D.C. a state, eliminating the filibuster rule, and doing away with the electoral college. Each of these actions would make our republic more democratic, and America will be better for them.
The Republicans have played with fire. It’s likely that they’ll reap what they’ve sown, and the country will be rid of their treachery. The sooner, the better. I say, bring it on.
