she was 75 12 years ago and in TERRIBLE health. That's some massive arrogance the idea that no one could do the job as good as you. Or just the selfishness to keep the position and prestige. I dunno what her motivation was to stay on for eight years but it's indefensible and here we all are. Right where we all knew we'd be in Nov '16.
That's game folks. Supreme Court gave Trump his first squeaker, when he was a joke candidate without incumbency and before all his liabilities were fully normalized by the Chaits and Cillizzas of the world.
If you thought the Trumpers were turning out in droves to vote in a president who was running in a primary unopposed, wait till you see them brave a pandemic they ignore specifically to spite their enemies, to vote in their godhead over the antifa Biden, and secure a 6-3 majority, thereby invalidating any democratic initiative that any Lib president, congress, governor, or state or city legislature might try to enact for the next 30 years.
i'm so unbelievably tired of just the absolute worst shit in the world happening day after day. and i have no confidence in anyone in a position of power to stop what's going to happen.
I really appreciated this take on things - especially as a European who works at the intersection of tech and politics and recently moved to the USA. I'm realising just how a lot of what is deemed 'normal' in American politics is everything but that from an outsider's perspective.
First let’s point the obvious: Obama did fuck up in not getting Ginsburg and Breyer out of there and get two Sotomayors to replace them. Basic politicking was not done.
Second: it’s times like these where we need to use the Constitution as a guide. First, forget the fucking President for a minute and work our asses off to control the Senate. Article II Section II states that the Senate is the ultimate decider of appointees (paraphrase). If the Dems control the Senate regardless of who’s in the Oval Office, we got a chance (slim but at least something).
Finally, let’s borrow a page from Andrew Jackson aka “The Proto Trump“ playbook and tell the Supreme Court to fuck off on their rulings. They only “interpret” the laws which is just fancy talk for letting their political biases fly! Also they have no enforcement body to enact their decisions. It’s like looking at Fredo and saying he’s Don Corleone. If we can’t outright remove it at least treat it like the low level institution that it is.
TL;DR: vote for progressive Senators and stop deifying the Supreme Court they way we do and we might have a chance to get out of this somewhat intact
The first thing I said after the news broke was that if McConnell and his crew disregard the precedent they established a mere four years ago, and thus try to ram through a confirmation in less than two months, we have reached “drag them into the streets and burn it to the ground” territory.
If the ensuing enshrining (couldn't resist) of Justice Cruz, Cotton or Rao doesn't serve to radicalize the squishy, wet, centrist milquetoast Democrats, then nothing will and they deserve to be consigned to the trash bin of history.
Also, gonna say, I don't know what it's looking like in the Senate, but if I was Mitch McConnel, I might let this one ride. It's gonna juice GOP turnout like nothing else, and the guy who rammed through Clarence Thomas is definitely gonna make some noise about picking a bipartisan choice to heal the division (if he hasn't already) which is only gonna suppress democratic turnout.
You get a boost to your odds of keeping the presidency, and downballot including the senate, as well as taking the supremes with a 6-3 supermajority for a generation as well as however many 20 year old "Cicero Plutius Maximus" blogger lunatics you can get Schumer to rubberstamp.
Then again the temptation to lock in the 6-3 supermajority and roll the dice on the rest is the safe bet. Who knows!
Are there good points here? Sure! Thanks, genius - all of this has been known. She fucking died like three hours ago, maybe shut the fuck up for one day before being the "well, actually" guy.
If I may speak ill of the dead:
she was 75 12 years ago and in TERRIBLE health. That's some massive arrogance the idea that no one could do the job as good as you. Or just the selfishness to keep the position and prestige. I dunno what her motivation was to stay on for eight years but it's indefensible and here we all are. Right where we all knew we'd be in Nov '16.
That's game folks. Supreme Court gave Trump his first squeaker, when he was a joke candidate without incumbency and before all his liabilities were fully normalized by the Chaits and Cillizzas of the world.
If you thought the Trumpers were turning out in droves to vote in a president who was running in a primary unopposed, wait till you see them brave a pandemic they ignore specifically to spite their enemies, to vote in their godhead over the antifa Biden, and secure a 6-3 majority, thereby invalidating any democratic initiative that any Lib president, congress, governor, or state or city legislature might try to enact for the next 30 years.
i'm so unbelievably tired of just the absolute worst shit in the world happening day after day. and i have no confidence in anyone in a position of power to stop what's going to happen.
I really appreciated this take on things - especially as a European who works at the intersection of tech and politics and recently moved to the USA. I'm realising just how a lot of what is deemed 'normal' in American politics is everything but that from an outsider's perspective.
A few points I figure that I’d add:
First let’s point the obvious: Obama did fuck up in not getting Ginsburg and Breyer out of there and get two Sotomayors to replace them. Basic politicking was not done.
Second: it’s times like these where we need to use the Constitution as a guide. First, forget the fucking President for a minute and work our asses off to control the Senate. Article II Section II states that the Senate is the ultimate decider of appointees (paraphrase). If the Dems control the Senate regardless of who’s in the Oval Office, we got a chance (slim but at least something).
Finally, let’s borrow a page from Andrew Jackson aka “The Proto Trump“ playbook and tell the Supreme Court to fuck off on their rulings. They only “interpret” the laws which is just fancy talk for letting their political biases fly! Also they have no enforcement body to enact their decisions. It’s like looking at Fredo and saying he’s Don Corleone. If we can’t outright remove it at least treat it like the low level institution that it is.
TL;DR: vote for progressive Senators and stop deifying the Supreme Court they way we do and we might have a chance to get out of this somewhat intact
The first thing I said after the news broke was that if McConnell and his crew disregard the precedent they established a mere four years ago, and thus try to ram through a confirmation in less than two months, we have reached “drag them into the streets and burn it to the ground” territory.
If the ensuing enshrining (couldn't resist) of Justice Cruz, Cotton or Rao doesn't serve to radicalize the squishy, wet, centrist milquetoast Democrats, then nothing will and they deserve to be consigned to the trash bin of history.
Of course, the rest of us don't, but here we are.
I Don't Want To Hear Another Fucking Word About Collins, Murkowski, Grassley, or Graham Unless They Die Or Actually Do Something Useful For Once
Also, gonna say, I don't know what it's looking like in the Senate, but if I was Mitch McConnel, I might let this one ride. It's gonna juice GOP turnout like nothing else, and the guy who rammed through Clarence Thomas is definitely gonna make some noise about picking a bipartisan choice to heal the division (if he hasn't already) which is only gonna suppress democratic turnout.
You get a boost to your odds of keeping the presidency, and downballot including the senate, as well as taking the supremes with a 6-3 supermajority for a generation as well as however many 20 year old "Cicero Plutius Maximus" blogger lunatics you can get Schumer to rubberstamp.
Then again the temptation to lock in the 6-3 supermajority and roll the dice on the rest is the safe bet. Who knows!
I needed to read this this morning.
Are there good points here? Sure! Thanks, genius - all of this has been known. She fucking died like three hours ago, maybe shut the fuck up for one day before being the "well, actually" guy.
packing the court is like that episode of father ted where he's trying to get the dent out of the car