Insane. Democratic Party leaders are explicitly pledging to pack the Supreme Court--increasing the number of justices from 9 to 13--the moment they get the presidency and control of the Senate. This would be the end of an independent judiciary in the United States of America. 1/
When, in 1937, Franklin Roosevelt announced his court packing plan, responsible members of the Democratic Party opposed it--precisely because it meant the end of judicial independence. It was not easy to stand up to a popular president of their own party, but it was patriotic. 2/
We need such patriots today. Court packing should not only be nixed, the idea should be stigmatized. Those pledging to pack the Supreme Court should be called out as what they are, enemies of the principle of judicial independence. 3/
This isn't to say that Democrats or others shouldn't criticize the Court when they believe the justices have usurped the authority of the other branches or betrayed the Constitution. The historical record shows that such criticism has sometimes been warranted. So, criticize. 4/
Lincoln even defied parts of the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford. He wasn't wrong to do that. I'm not arguing for judicial supremacy. (I've been a critic of that idea, precisely on constitutional grounds.) But judicial *independence* is critically important. 5/
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