Since the end of the primary, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has mostly been able to avoid controversy. This has kept the focus on Trump — his disastrous response to the pandemic, his successful efforts to avoid paying taxes, and his repeated refusal to condemn white supremacists.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think that the Democrats should embrace the concept. Look, at this point the Republicans have effectively stolen two Supreme Court seats. Merrick Garland should be on the Court, and now RBG is about to be replaced by someone who makes Justice Alito look like a flaming liberal. My message to the American public would be just that: We (the Democrats) are now looking to rebalance the Court to more accurately reflect the views and positions of the majority of the country. And to that I'd add term limits for the federal courts. Now, granted, the Mango Menace has appointed tons of young, far right judges so this wouldn't matter in most cases because they'll still be on the bench for decades, but at least there would be a finish line of sorts for these judges.
The GOP doesn’t have the equivalent of Hilary’s emails to beat up Biden, so have used the possibility of “packing the court” in hopes of making a scandal of his refusal to play their game. Biden is damned if he says “yes” & damned if he says “no” as he would be locking himself into a decision that doesn’t need to be made before he is even elected. The GOP has been so obstructive that I am ready for the Democrats to play that same way when they are in power, & I don’t believe that is any way to govern.
If memory serves, FDR's threat to pack the court in the face of an unrelenting partisan court determined to thwart the New Deal was taken off the table when two members of SCOTUS miraculously (!) switched their positions and stopped acting as obstructionists. One can imagine FDR had a serious heart-to-heart with the Chief Justice to reach an accommodation.
I'm guessing Biden will have that kind of conversation with Chief Justice Roberts to convince him that, for the good of the nation, the court needs to stop acting as a political entity or else Biden and Congress will have little choice but to force balance on the court.
It would not surprise me if that's the kind of calculus going through Biden's head at the moment, thus leaving his non-statements on packing completely honest.
You have more faith in Biden than I do. His mantra has always been how well he ‘works with’ Republicans. Has Joe ever actually done anything even close to leaning on a SCOTUS Chief Justice? I seriously doubt he’ll change that drastically.
The MSM Labradoodles won't cover Trump like he should've been covered since Jan. 2017. Mostly owned by 1% who gain so much from Trump, they just keep chasing the ball. The fools.
Makes me appreciate your coverage for it's truth even more. Thanks Judd.
I think Biden has provided as much of an answer as the question deserves (although we need to read between the lines a little bit). He has acknowledged that the question exists. He has published his platform. Court packing is not on it. A lot of other things aren’t on it, either. When the time comes to consider those things, they will be considered and addressed by a Biden administration. It is not necessary to address court packing now, so he won’t. He’s not “ducking the question”, he’s establishing his own priorities rather than let his opponents dictate them. I hope he sticks to that.
The only party packing the court at this time is the Republican party and they are doing it with a candidate who, having sat on a bench for only 3 years (after being appointed to it in 2017 by Trump) is UNQUALIFIED to sit on SCOTUS.
I hope Biden does pack the court, although I don’t have the slightest bit of faith that he would. Democrats are far too timid. It’s why we are where we are
Trump hasn't given us a plan on anything, not even covid-19. I think Biden's doing the right thing, Republicans would be spin doctors with any answer he gave.
The MSM is hardly “liberal”. Anyone who still thinks so after all the abuse trump has put us through is crazy. All the big boys have far too much to lose by having anything even close to being “balanced”. I’ve never forgotten that CBS creep, Les Moonves, rubbing his hands together and looking forward to Trump’s candidacy/presidency. What a sick sob and I’m sure he wasn’t by himself. Just look at FIX and all the money their controversies have created over the years-before trump. The “Greed is good” mantra of the ‘80s has a firm foothold in the US now and the big boys love it too much to stop the flow of bucks.
I love how ambiguity can be considered "strategic" rather than cowardly. I would rather know what a politician believes and would have more respect for them whether I agree or disagree than have them duck questions, though I accede that the Biden controversy is manufactured garbage.
This media-manufactured "issue" has been really ticking me off. Thanks for writing about it.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think that the Democrats should embrace the concept. Look, at this point the Republicans have effectively stolen two Supreme Court seats. Merrick Garland should be on the Court, and now RBG is about to be replaced by someone who makes Justice Alito look like a flaming liberal. My message to the American public would be just that: We (the Democrats) are now looking to rebalance the Court to more accurately reflect the views and positions of the majority of the country. And to that I'd add term limits for the federal courts. Now, granted, the Mango Menace has appointed tons of young, far right judges so this wouldn't matter in most cases because they'll still be on the bench for decades, but at least there would be a finish line of sorts for these judges.
The GOP doesn’t have the equivalent of Hilary’s emails to beat up Biden, so have used the possibility of “packing the court” in hopes of making a scandal of his refusal to play their game. Biden is damned if he says “yes” & damned if he says “no” as he would be locking himself into a decision that doesn’t need to be made before he is even elected. The GOP has been so obstructive that I am ready for the Democrats to play that same way when they are in power, & I don’t believe that is any way to govern.
If memory serves, FDR's threat to pack the court in the face of an unrelenting partisan court determined to thwart the New Deal was taken off the table when two members of SCOTUS miraculously (!) switched their positions and stopped acting as obstructionists. One can imagine FDR had a serious heart-to-heart with the Chief Justice to reach an accommodation.
I'm guessing Biden will have that kind of conversation with Chief Justice Roberts to convince him that, for the good of the nation, the court needs to stop acting as a political entity or else Biden and Congress will have little choice but to force balance on the court.
It would not surprise me if that's the kind of calculus going through Biden's head at the moment, thus leaving his non-statements on packing completely honest.
You have more faith in Biden than I do. His mantra has always been how well he ‘works with’ Republicans. Has Joe ever actually done anything even close to leaning on a SCOTUS Chief Justice? I seriously doubt he’ll change that drastically.
The MSM Labradoodles won't cover Trump like he should've been covered since Jan. 2017. Mostly owned by 1% who gain so much from Trump, they just keep chasing the ball. The fools.
Makes me appreciate your coverage for it's truth even more. Thanks Judd.
I think Biden has provided as much of an answer as the question deserves (although we need to read between the lines a little bit). He has acknowledged that the question exists. He has published his platform. Court packing is not on it. A lot of other things aren’t on it, either. When the time comes to consider those things, they will be considered and addressed by a Biden administration. It is not necessary to address court packing now, so he won’t. He’s not “ducking the question”, he’s establishing his own priorities rather than let his opponents dictate them. I hope he sticks to that.
The only party packing the court at this time is the Republican party and they are doing it with a candidate who, having sat on a bench for only 3 years (after being appointed to it in 2017 by Trump) is UNQUALIFIED to sit on SCOTUS.
I hope Biden does pack the court, although I don’t have the slightest bit of faith that he would. Democrats are far too timid. It’s why we are where we are
Agreed.
Trump hasn't given us a plan on anything, not even covid-19. I think Biden's doing the right thing, Republicans would be spin doctors with any answer he gave.
Thank you for a well researched and thoughtful piece. I learned a lot from this :)
The MSM is hardly “liberal”. Anyone who still thinks so after all the abuse trump has put us through is crazy. All the big boys have far too much to lose by having anything even close to being “balanced”. I’ve never forgotten that CBS creep, Les Moonves, rubbing his hands together and looking forward to Trump’s candidacy/presidency. What a sick sob and I’m sure he wasn’t by himself. Just look at FIX and all the money their controversies have created over the years-before trump. The “Greed is good” mantra of the ‘80s has a firm foothold in the US now and the big boys love it too much to stop the flow of bucks.
I love how ambiguity can be considered "strategic" rather than cowardly. I would rather know what a politician believes and would have more respect for them whether I agree or disagree than have them duck questions, though I accede that the Biden controversy is manufactured garbage.