Friday, September 13, 2024

The Left’s Assault on the Constitution

Kamala Harris declared in Tuesday's debate that a vote for her is a vote "to end the approach that is about attacking the foundations of our democracy 'cause you don't like the outcome." She was alluding to the 2021 Capitol riot, but she and her party are also attacking the foundations of our democracy: the Supreme Court and the freedom of speech. Several candidates for the 2020 presidential nomination, including Ms. Harris, said they were open to the idea of packing the court by expanding the number of seats. Mr. Biden opposed the idea, but a week after he exited the 2024 presidential race, he announced a "bold plan" to "reform" the high court. It would pack the court via term limits and also impose a "binding code of conduct," aimed at conservative justices

Comments

Several candidates for the 2020 presidential nomination, including Ms. Harris, said they were open to the idea of packing the court by expanding the number of seats.

The number of SCOTUS seats has changed multiple times in our history, and doing so is not anti-constitutional, it's wholly the call of the Constitution.

Again, anti-constitutional forces like Strawlighter try to hide their fears and manipulations behind supposed respect for the Constitution. All you care about is the power now skewing to the side you prefer. There are 13 US Circuit Courts and before expansion, the number of courts used to equal the number of SCOTUS justices, with each having responsibility of a single circuit. The only proposals of expansion that I've ever seen entail increasing the number of judges to 13 to again achieve equilibrium.

And further, no one has said that we let one President alone add 4 additional seats at once. I'd love to see an independent collection of perhaps retired federal judges do the vetting and nominating in conjunction with both parties and relevant legal organizations, with the goal being to find the fairest arbiters of justice with exceptional proven experience on the bench and a history of ruling from the Constitution, not against it.

#1 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-09-13 12:18 PM

Another trash thread from the DR's resident trash person.

The Dems aren't trying to unconstitutionally change the court. They are trying to rectify and control an out of control court. A court that is ignoring basic constitutional limits (i.e. standing) to deliver partisan results in an unprecedent power grab. They are literally legislating from the bench. They are corrupt (accepting bribes while simultaneously ruling bribes are somehow legal-tips instead of upfront payments), so not targeting conservative justices, just the corrupt ones. The dems are attempting to rectify a stolen SC seat. Many of the justices perjured themselves to get on the court and threw away 50 years of stare decisis to reach a partisan, unjust, decision that stripped women of their rights.

#2 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-09-13 12:36 PM

SCOTUS has been 9 justices since 1869, gaslitgtroma.

Even with huge congressional majorities Democrats shot down FDR's court packing scheme.

As for Twoothy,

It's just a cry-baby rant from someone who says it's corruption when the court doesn't deliver the outcomes the left demands.

You are both proving the point of this thread, unwittingly, of course.

#3 | Posted by BellRinger at 2024-09-13 01:20 PM

SCOTUS has been 9 justices since 1869, gaslitgtroma.

You just can't help but continue to prove what an ignorant gaslighter you are. Did you bother to see why the Court expanded to 9 seats in 1869?

It's for the very freaking reason I stated! ...[B]efore expansion, the number of courts used to equal the number of SCOTUS justices, with each having responsibility of a single circuit.

The 1869 Act set the Court at nine members.

In addition, the 1869 Act stipulated that each of the nine circuit courts of the United States would have a circuit judge appointed who would reside in that locale and have the same power and jurisdiction as the Supreme Court justice assigned to the circuit.

en.wikipedia.org

How many circuits do we have today Strawlighter? 13! Congress' intent in 1869 was to match SCOTUS justices to the number of circuits - which is precisely what I stated.

For the last time, it's not gaslighting when it's the freaking truth. Why can't you get that thru your impenetrable skull?

#4 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-09-13 01:34 PM

Another trash thread from the DR's resident trash person.

Exactly. And when spoon fed the truth, he can't wait to accuse others of being duplicitous when it's his own ignorance's fault he can't and won't understand history nor facts.

#5 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-09-13 01:37 PM

constitution.congress.gov

The Constitution provides for a Judicial Branch including one supreme Court.1 It also appears to assume that the Supreme Court will include a Chief Justice, stipulating that the Chief Justice shall preside over any Presidential impeachment trial in the Senate.2 However, the Constitution is silent on other matters such as the size and composition of the Supreme Court, the time and place for sitting, and the Court's internal organization, leaving those questions to Congress

#6 | Posted by LauraMohr at 2024-09-13 01:39 PM

It's just a cry-baby rant from someone who says it's corruption when the court doesn't deliver the outcomes the left demands.
You are both proving the point of this thread, unwittingly, of course.

#3 | Posted by BellRinger a

what do you call a justice taking millions of dollars in gifts from someone with business before the court?

#7 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-09-13 01:53 PM

You are both proving the point of this thread, unwittingly, of course.

#3 | Posted by BellRinger

You're a simple nit wit, of course.

#8 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-09-13 02:00 PM

The court has been 9 members for 155 years.

The ONLY reason Dems want to pack the court is purely as an abuse of power. They'd have to completely nope the filibuster to do it.

I also notice nobody has even remotely tried to contradict all of the other examples of abuse the op ed lays out.

#9 | Posted by BellRinger at 2024-09-13 02:48 PM

-The number of SCOTUS seats has changed multiple times in our history, and doing so is not anti-constitutional, it's wholly the call of the Constitution.

I completely agree.

These boring accusations are no different than the rhetoric I challenged on the other thread.

#10 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 02:52 PM

-The ONLY reason Dems want to pack the court is purely as an abuse of power.

only if they get their way with the nominees.

but it's as likely to backfire on them as they've been on the wrong side of this for the past 25 years or so.

And having a selfish motivation doesn't make it unconstitutional on it's face.

#11 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 02:54 PM

@#9 ... The ONLY reason Dems want to pack the court is purely as an abuse of power. ...

So, your current alias has backed off the "assault on the Constitution" aspect?


Good.

OK, now please explain why trying to right the issues with the current SCOTUS is an abuse of power.


#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 02:54 PM

Jeffy sent his 10 dollar donation to the Clarence and Ginni Thomas Vacation Fund today.

Leo Leonard, meanwhile, tossed in another million.

Funny how Trump makes corrupt SC Justices OK in 'Murica.

#13 | Posted by Corky at 2024-09-13 03:03 PM

Open question to the DR lefties:

If Trump wins and the GOP takes the Senate and keeps control of the House would you support legislation adding 4 seats to SCOTUS?

If no, why?

#14 | Posted by BellRinger at 2024-09-13 03:12 PM

@#14 ... If no, why? ...

No.

Because SCOTUS has already been corrupted by the Republicans.

So, why add to that corruption.


Your turn.

Please answer what I posed in #12 --- OK, now please explain why trying to right the issues with the current SCOTUS is an abuse of power.

#15 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 03:32 PM

-Because SCOTUS has already been corrupted by the Republicans.

So the starting point of this argument is you've declared the SCOTUS corrupt?

That justifies almost any action, doesn't it?

#16 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 03:37 PM

I think expanding the court to 13 justices (to match the 13 appellate courts districts/circuits) should be part of a larger court reform package that involves establishing an ethical code of conduct and term limits, but I don't think the next president, whoever it is, should get to add 4 seats. A plan could be devised to add 1 seat every 4 years over the next 4 presidencies, for example. I think more important than expanding the court at this point is codifying an enforceable code of conduct and establishing term limits.

#17 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2024-09-13 03:43 PM

I also notice nobody has even remotely tried to contradict all of the other examples of abuse the op ed lays out.

#9 | Posted by BellRinger

because the premise, like you, is stupid. The only abuse of power is coming from the SC, something your refuse to even admit. You refuse to contradict any of the facts that I posted in #2 IOW, you're a loser

#18 | Posted by truthhurts at 2024-09-13 03:46 PM

@#16 ... So the starting point of this argument is you've declared the SCOTUS corrupt? ...

I did not say SCOTUS was corrupt.

I did say SCOTUS has already been corrupted by the Republicans.

And the starting point of this "argument" was "The Left's Assault on the Constitution." something that still has not been substantiated in spite of all the deflection attempts.

#19 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 03:52 PM

-A plan could be devised to add 1 seat every 4 years over the next 4 presidencies

wouldn't we need to avoid an even number?

#20 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 03:55 PM

"I did not say SCOTUS was corrupt.
I did say SCOTUS has already been corrupted by the Republicans"

LOL

#21 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 03:56 PM

Tom Rogers and Susan Del Percio were on Morning Joe this morning talking about court reform. Here's an opinion piece they did today on the topic:

Engendering Support for Supreme Court Reform Is a Matter of Gender
www.newsweek.com

Here is an older op-ed on the topic:

The Case for Expanding the Supreme Court Has Never Been Stronger
newrepublic.com

Although I personally find a number of recent SC decisions potentially persausive reasons for Democrats to stack the court, the one decision I feel is the most compelling reason to do so in order to rebalance the current Supreme Court's extreme right-wing bent is the case on presidential immunity. I agree with the above author when she writes:

"These Supreme Court decisions have been based on tortured originalist readings. While one might disagree with the outcome, and the extent of the intervention, at least one felt there was a certain logic behind these cases, a logic by which the decisions could be engaged and challenged. But the decision in Trump v. United States had no such reasoning, not even a pretense of constitutional interpretation. The sweeping decision, more than any other over the past decade and more, exposed a raw partisanship and lack of principle. It not only set a dramatic new precedent that changes 235 years of understanding about the role of the president but it rewrote the Constitution, unbalancing it in favor of the president--and without apology. It made no pretense of considering the potential costs or risks of its dramatic intervention, as has been the norm for major Supreme Court decisions. It arguably removed most checks on presidential power."

And that's not a Democrat vs Republican observation. Staunch conservatives like Judge Luttig also agree that the SC erred grievously in their decision in the presidentail immunity case and in such a way as to undermine the Constituion and our democracy in a substantially harmful way.

#22 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2024-09-13 03:59 PM

@#21 ... LOL ...

Not sure what is funny about that.

I do not think that SCOTUS, as an institution, is corrupt. Yet.

Though if the Republicans continue their assault on SCOTUS, the institution, then it may become corrupt.

But for now, it just seems to be the Republicans who are contributing to the corruption I see in SCOTUS, and allowing them to add four more seats would not help resolve that problem.


#23 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 04:05 PM

I'm not against increasing the size of the court but I don't see how those who feel the court is corrupted (not corrupt...but corrupted..LOL) will any less corrupt if we increase the size.

The same undemocratically unbalanced US Senate is still going to be the same gauntlet of pitbulls by which every candidate has to survive.

What I arguing is that potentially you're arguing to make a better weapon....that will get used against you

#24 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 04:08 PM

-I do not think that SCOTUS, as an institution, is corrupt. Yet.

They're "corrupted"...but not corrupt?

how do you distinguish between the 2?

And where is this mysterious line you're drawing in which the SCOTUS becomes corrupt anymore than it appears they are now?

I don't think the burden is where you are calling every member of the court corrupt but you're clearly of the opinion that some are corrupt.

Is that where you're headed? The number?

Who isn't corrupt then.....let's start there.

#25 | Posted by eberly at 2024-09-13 04:12 PM

Thomas is obviously corrupt. Alito just gas terrible legal reasoning.

#26 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2024-09-13 04:14 PM

has.

#27 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2024-09-13 04:14 PM

And the starting point of this "argument" was "The Left's Assault on the Constitution." something that still has not been substantiated in spite of all the deflection attempts.

#19 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

Exactly. Some crap different day.

Wait. The so-called Left is "assaulting" the constitution? You mean the one Trumpy wants to terminate? That constitution? Just more bullbringer lies with not a shred of evidence to back it up. Like trump's Big Lie about the election.

"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social ...

#28 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-09-13 04:27 PM

@#28 ... Exactly. Some crap different day. ...

Yup.

And when the premise of the thread is shot down, then the deflection attempts started.

For a while it was fun to participate, but when the arguing for the sake of arguing begins, it no longer is fun to participate.


#29 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 04:34 PM

At this point these sort of ridiculous rantings really should be ignored.

#30 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-09-13 08:40 PM

So that means YOU should be totally ignored Cuz all you got is Ridiculous Ranting 24/7.

Lol.

#31 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-13 10:23 PM

I think Comrade Jeffry is cashing paychecks from the Kremlin.

#32 | Posted by a_monson at 2024-09-13 10:51 PM

@#31 ... So that means YOU should be totally ignored Cuz all you got is Ridiculous Ranting 24/7. ...

Why does your current alias seem to be trying so hard this evening?

New directives from the MotherShip?


#33 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-13 10:54 PM

Im Smoking good Fake Weed. THCA that's 28.75% total cannabinoids. Lol.

It was cheap too, so that's even better.

I just wanted to try out my tough guy schtick.

#34 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-09-13 11:03 PM

-A plan could be devised to add 1 seat every 4 years over the next 4 presidencies
wouldn't we need to avoid an even number?

#20 | Posted by eberly

What's 9+4, genius?

#35 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-09-14 01:30 PM

" What's 9+4, genius?"

Well, in this plan, even numbers for two individual years.

#36 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-09-14 01:32 PM

It's fascinating history. We HAVE had an even number (10) and have had 9 since 1869.

#37 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-09-14 03:10 PM

This is a joke, right?

#38 | Posted by Angrydad at 2024-09-14 09:37 PM

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