At the #OurRightsOurCourts forum in Concord, NH. @SRuhle just finished taking to @PeteButtigieg on his plan to expand SCOTUS and his views on late-term abortion, @AndrewYang now up discussing his support for term limits on justices.
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang "The fact it's nine [justices] right now is frankly just a coincidence," Yang says, discussing expansion of court. Cont'd: "If you had 15, 17 and they were rotating regularly, then if they stepped down it would not be such a political war that breaks out."
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang Yang says he'd take exec action to "try to get funding into reproductive centers and Planned Parenthood centers" to ensure access to abortion services if Roe v. Wade were overturned or rolled back
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang Yang: "There's a guy named Joe Rogan who said -- maybe I shouldn't quote him, but whatever"
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang Big ol' round of applause after Yang praises Mitt Romney, who has now become a guaranteed hit for any Democratic candidate who invokes his name, just as everyone expected in 2012
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang Next up: @TomSteyer, whose message combines spending lots of money and calling for restrictions on money in politics: "These corporations have bought this government. Unless we break their control, we're not getting what we want."
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer . @SRuhle asks why Koch spending on elections is so different than Steyer's political spending. "They want certain thing for themselves...that help their life. They will not tell you what they do. How many times have you interviewed the Koch Bros?...I'm transparent."
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer Now up @BernieSanders. Asked if he'd consider court legitimate if it blocks his plans as FDR's were blocked. Sanders says he interprets q as whether he'd pack courts "I think you don't," he says, citing retaliatory packing from future presidents.
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders This is a key Trump/Sanders distinction in outsider messages. Sanders pushes the bounds of *policy* on the D side, but is a creature of existing institutions. Trump's a policy chameleon, but willingness to ignore bounds of law and tradition is critical to message and thinking.
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders Ironically, candidates more concerned with remaking institutions and pushing legal boundaries are on the center-left this cycle. Buttigieg wants to end filibuster, expand court, Harris put the emphasis on testing limits of exec action.
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders This is a party-wide shift, for the most part. Senators you'd associate most with bipartisanship and process when Obama was elected are saying they noticed how that went
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders . @ewarren on D record on confirming judicial nominees: "Democrats just didn't focus on this. Democrats left open seats, Democrats delayed, Democrats just did not make it a priority." Slams D's for bipartisan deal on judges with W Bush after a standoff (the famed 'Gang of 14')
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders @ewarren Only two remaining members of 'Gang of 14' in Senate: Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders @ewarren Deval Patrick last up, asked about Trump's approval ratings potentially on uptick: "You know I'm skeptical of polls...I would say that right now."
@SRuhle @PeteButtigieg @AndrewYang @TomSteyer @BernieSanders @ewarren Patrick on Trump touting bipartisan criminal justice reform, says D's were right to work with him: "I'm not one of those folks...who thought it was even understandable to behave the way Mitch McConnell did when Barack Obama was president."
