WITH HIGH COURT VACANCY, MID-TERMS ARE CRITICAL
We have good reason to be very worried that the United States Supreme Court is on its way to becoming the most conservative in American history.
The founders of our country and the writers of our Constitution designed the Supreme Court to be the great balancer of our country, the counterweight of majorities and minorities.
So it’s tough to see that with Wednesday’s announcement of the planned retirement of swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Donald Trump nomination could well put the court on a solid trajectory toward majority conservatism — despite the fact that in six of the last seven presidential elections, more Americans voted for a Democrat than for a Republican.
The reason for this corruption of destiny is Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and the successful perversion of Senate norms and rules to steal the Supreme Court seat that President Barack Obama sought to fill.
McConnell refused to allow a vote on Obama’s very qualified and middle-of-the-road — even praised by many GOP members — nominee Merrick Garland because we were eight months away from an election and “the people need to speak.” Well, now we’ll soon be four months away from an election but McConnell says the Senate will do its duty of advise and consent in the fall — before the people speak.
With 49 Democrats in the Senate and 51 Republicans, the chances of delaying a vote on Trump’s as-yet-unnamed nominee look grim. Not impossible, but certainly tough and grim.
The most conservative of Republicans already are counting the days until reproductive freedom — read here, abortion and even birth control — are no longer a woman’s choice, but rather a vanished freedom, under national rule.
The New York Times summed it up well: “If the last few days hadn’t been dispiriting enough for those who believed the Supreme Court could still stand for reproductive freedom, equal rights for all Americans, a check on presidential power, a more humane criminal justice system and so much more, Wednesday afternoon [Kennedy’s retirement announcement and McConnell’s promised fall confirmation vote] brought the coup de grâce.”
Certainly, the tandem announcements galvanized Democrat voters. But, likewise, those news events galvanized the here-tofore sleepy and somewhat tired-of-Trump conservative voters.
The road to the mid-terms just got a lot longer and bumpier. And likely a lot darker. Not only for reproductive choice, but also for voting rights, affirmative action, equal rights, gay rights, a fair criminal justice system, fair and safe workplaces.
It will take at least one Republican — hopefully two, three or four — to force Trump and the GOP to name a nominee with moderate leanings. Those Republicans could be Maine’s Susan Collins or Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, who have supported abortion rights. Or they could be Tennessee’s Bob Corker or Arizona’s Jeff Flake, two men whose moral compasses have led them to criticize Trump and the Senate’s game-playing. Both plan to retire from politics in January at the end of their terms.
On Thursday, the Times wrote: “For those who face the future in fear after Wednesday, there are no easy answers — but there is a clear duty. Do not for a moment underestimate the importance of getting out and voting in November. Four years ago, only 36 percent of Americans cast ballots in the midterm elections. Had more people showed up, the Senate may well have remained in Democratic control, Mitch McConnell would not be the majority leader and Judge Merrick Garland would now be Justice Garland. In the days and months ahead, remember this.”
We cannot say this enough. Democrats, independents, moderates: Vote. Vote. Vote.