Not that anyone could've really predicted Trump, but RBG should have really given more consideration to stepping down during Obama's presidency. At that point she was in her 80s, had served for 20+ years in the Supreme Court, and had already had 2 bouts with different types of cancer. It's harsh, but the writing was pretty clearly on the wall.
Yeah, but the Republicans controlled the Senate.
As usual, there's a West Wing scene that perfectly sums up the problem.
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The only time RBG could have retire during Obama's term was in the first two years when the Dems had the majority. Once the GOP got the majority they were never going to let any of his nominees go through because the current GOP rise has been about being anti-Obama.
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There was certainly a moment in time during the Nazis’ rise in Germany where the opportunity to stop their assumption of power had passed. Tonight is that moment for Western democracy. Trump and the Republicans will assume power permanently in the next few months and re-mould the United States according to their whims, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
And make no mistake - where they go, Canada will follow. Just ask all of Germany’s neighbours how they fared after Hitler took over.
This is a pretty grim prediction, but the truth of the matter is that RBG's death blows another massive hole in the dam of American democracy. It may well be that the time in which the US could have saved its institutions has indeed passed, and we're just going to watch the jackals and hyenas tear its carcass to pieces over the next several years.
Canada should be putting a lot of time into figuring out how to defend itself from what the US is looking more and more likely to become.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
As usual, there's a West Wing scene that perfectly sums up the problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
The only time RBG could have retire during Obama's term was in the first two years when the Dems had the majority. Once the GOP got the majority they were never going to let any of his nominees go through because the current GOP rise has been about being anti-Obama.
The Democrats had the majority in the Senate for the first 6 years of Obama's presidency. They lost the house in 2010, but held the Senate up until the 2014 election.
This is a pretty grim prediction, but the truth of the matter is that RBG's death blows another massive hole in the dam of American democracy. It may well be that the time in which the US could have saved its institutions has indeed passed, and we're just going to watch the jackals and hyenas tear its carcass to pieces over the next several years.
Canada should be putting a lot of time into figuring out how to defend itself from what the US is looking more and more likely to become.
I have a little hope in that usually Supreme Court justices moderate based on the composition on the bench. Roberts has come a long way left over time. Gorsuch appears to be such a candidate as well.
If they go the shill route then yes democracy is at risk. If they go with a right leaning but qualified jurist there is hope.
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__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
I have a little hope in that usually Supreme Court justices moderate based on the composition on the bench. Roberts has come a long way left over time. Gorsuch appears to be such a candidate as well.
If they go the shill route then yes democracy is at risk. If they go with a right leaning but qualified jurist there is hope.
Your point is well taken, and I agree that Gorsuch seems a good candidate for moderation.
The problem is that the Republicans have learned since his appointment that they do not need to hide their contempt for democracy or reason any longer. They have appointed dozens of grossly unqualified candidates to the bench, and likely believe they can now appoint an obvious puppet to the USSC with impunity.
Enough Americans have seen how the sausage is made and decided they don't care: they'll just wash it down with some Bud and wipe their mouths with their Trump bandanas. The GOP knows this now, and unless a few of them still have a vertebra left, nothing will stop them putting a toady and a fool in RBG's place.
Your point is well taken, and I agree that Gorsuch seems a good candidate for moderation.
The problem is that the Republicans have learned since his appointment that they do not need to hide their contempt for democracy or reason any longer. They have appointed dozens of grossly unqualified candidates to the bench, and likely believe they can now appoint an obvious puppet to the USSC with impunity.
Enough Americans have seen how the sausage is made and decided they don't care: they'll just wash it down with some Bud and wipe their mouths with their Trump bandanas. The GOP knows this now, and unless a few of them still have a vertebra left, nothing will stop them putting a toady and a fool in RBG's place.
I agree that Kavanaugh and whoever is railroaded through could be puppets. That still leaves 7, One hopes that is enough.
The US system has a number of very disturbing flaws.
- Electoral college/lack of ranked-choice voting
- Lifetime judge appointees
- House not having a veto on judge appointments
- Sweeping presidential powers
I don't see how the US recovers from its current predicament, unless some of these conservative judges grow a spine and, quite honestly, develop a pulse.
If someone is rammed through then Biden won't ever get the chance to even consider making it 11 SC Justices. Trump's only hope to stay President is "winning" the election through cheating, so he needs this seat filled for that to happen. It's hilarious to a degree how this works out, because I definitely think RBG dying helps Biden drive out the vote even more, but that it's also a boost to Trump because his path to staying in power has just opened up.
Why? He can cheat now. Its 5-3
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I don't see how the US recovers from its current predicament, unless some of these conservative judges grow a spine and, quite honestly, develop a pulse.
