September 29, 2020

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH

What’s the result of Democrats appealing to principles, Congressional traditions and the law? Well, McConnell has packed the Federal Bench with nearly 225 young Federalist Society right-wing partisan judges under Trump who will make much of the federal bench an extension of the Trump right-wing Republican agenda.

The Democrats have barely been heard criticizing this packing of the court that will impact the federal bench for generations, when they should have made McConnell’s partisan court packing a national issue a long time ago. But the Democrats have never been strong on messaging, and President Obama left Merrick Garland hanging in the wind. Obama could have used his extraordinary oratory skills and barnstormed the nation making the case that McConnell and the Republicans were stealing from the well of democracy. But governing by avoiding confrontation, in general, he didn’t.

Barrett, unless a deus ex machina appears, will be confirmed to the Supreme Court for a seat that should be appointed by the next president, given McConnell’s precedent in not advancing Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

For Barrett, it will be her second seat on the federal bench that was stolen from the Democrats. In 2016, Obama had nominated a Black woman, Indiana attorney Myra Selby, to the 7th District Court but McConnell sat on the confirmation until a Republican president was sworn in. This led to Barrett being nominated by Trump, based on a list vetted by the Federalist Society. Federalist Society Co-Chairman Leonard Leo, who is close to Bill Barr, played a key role in her selection, as he does with all of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees.

McConnell has several times declared that his greatest achievement as Senate Majority Leader has been packing the federal courts with “conservatives.” So, it should be reemphasized that Barrett is benefiting from McConnell’s obsession with seating pro-corporate, anti-abortion, pro-gun and anti-Obamacare nominees.

If confirmed, she will be taking the seat on the Supreme Court that belongs to the next president.

Read this Twitter thread from Leslie Poll, a civil rights lawyer and adviser to the NAACP on judicial appointments concerning Barrett’s appointment to the 7th Circuit Court in Chicago:

So while McConnell kept Garland from being confirmed so that Trump could appoint Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, he was keeping Myra Selby from being confirmed. Selby’s potential seat was then given to Barrett on the 7th Circuit Court.

And now Barrett is, it appears, going to be confirmed for the Supreme Court in an unprecedented calamitous rush before the November 3rd election. It is so close that it violates all norms of civility in the Senate. Forget how Senate rules allow McConnell to proceed, this is so ruthless, disrespectful of RBG, corrupt, brazen and such a violation of democracy that the Senate Democrats should go on a general strike.

This cannot stand, or our democracy will be so degraded by an attempted coup by a criminal, corrupt, sexual attacker, sociopath and ongoing virus superspreader (responsible for tens of thousands of deaths) who could be given a second term by packing the Supreme Court with a partisan majority who will anoint him president.

Barrett has likely indicated her personal loyalty to Trump and with a nod and wink that she vote to assist Trump in election dispute cases after November 3. This is why Trump is rushing the confirmation.

Trump is planning to win the November 3 election on a 6-3 or 5-4 SCOTUS vote.

The only scenario under which Trump says he would concede is if the Supreme Court determines Biden the winner. That is also the stance of Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. What they both mean is they are counting on the Supreme Court to anoint Trump the winner and have enough faith that Supreme Court intervention will happen to say they would accept a Biden win by Supreme Court Decision because they are so sure that it’s a done deal that Trump would be chosen the victor.

By the Dems only going through the motions of opposing Trump’s rush to create a court that will give him a second-term is giving McConnell the rope to hang democracy.

Then Schumer will shrug his shoulders and say there was nothing else we could do. That’s what happened when the 2000 election was won by a 5-4 partisan SCOTUS vote. Gore conceded and we had eight years of a war-hungry, terrorist torturing George W. Bush administration.

Update: BuzzFlash was among the first to detail Trump’s Supreme Court coup plans on September 20: “Reposted: As BuzzFlash Predicted, "Now All I Need Is a Vote of 6-3 to Win a Second Term," Trump Is Thinking as He Pressures McConnell for a Pre-Election SCOTUS Confirmation”

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