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Here’s a good piece from @Leahgreenb & @ezralevin about the need to expand the Supreme Court, go give it a read: inquirer.com/opinion/commen…

Leah & Ezra’s piece speaks for itself, so I’m gonna talk a bit about the counterpoint piece the Inquirer ran. (1/N)
The world’s on fire, so I’ll skip straight to the punchline: The opposition piece, which begins “There is no good reason to change the size of the Supreme Court, and very good reasons not to do so,” was written by a former clerk for …

… wait for it …

… Neal Gorsuch. (2/N)
“Gorsuch … Gorsuch … isn’t he the guy who..”

YES. YES, HE IS THE GUY WHO IS ON THE SUPREME COURT BECAUSE REPUBLICANS MANIPULATED THE SIZE OF THE COURT IN 2016-17.

Anyway, Neal Gorsuch’s former clerk is here to say that changing the size of the court would be bad .

(3/N) Image
Former Gorsuch clerk Michael H. McGinley: “the only conceivable motivation to adjust the Court’s composition would be the desire to influence outcomes in specific cases. But that would threaten the rule of law and judicial independence.”

Take it up with McConnell, pal.

(4/N)
See, the action former Gorsuch clerk Michael H. McGinley decries is the precise action Mitch McConnell & the GOP took in 2016/17. They reduced the size of the court 8 for as long as a Democrat was president, then increased it to 9 when Trump took office.

(5/N)
“But,” you might object, “Republicans didn’t change the size of the court by law, they just held a vacancy open.”

So, I retort, what? The intent and the effect are the same. Your objection is mere semantics.

The best way to un-do what Republicans did is to add seats.

(6/N)
McGinley: “Trust in the American legal system depends on the public’s belief that federal judges, including Supreme Court Justices, decide cases without regard to partisan pressure or personal preferences”

GOP donor interests are 73-0 in 5-4 decisions by the Roberts court

(7/N) Image
Clarence Thomas’s wife is trying to purge the government of people who aren’t loyal to Donald Trump, even as Thomas hears cases involving Trump.



(8/N)
And then there’s the time last fall when Bret Kavanaugh and Sam Alito were hanging out doing photoshoots with anti-gay activist Brian Brown, whose organization *has filed briefs in cases currently before the court.*



(9/N)
Oops I forgot the punchline on this one: McGinley clerked for Samuel Alito, too.

So anyway: McGinley’s bullshitting you when he pretends the current court’s conservatives are free of partisan influence or intent.



(10/N)
McGinley: “All nine Justices, regardless of which President appointed them, do their level best to decide every case based on the law and the facts, without regard to partisan politics.”

Again: GOP donor interests are *undefeated* in close votes in the Roberts court.

(11/N)
McGinley writes that Court expansion advocates “view the Supreme Court as an institution that should be bent to the will of an ascendant political majority.”

But the current court is bent to the will of America’s political *minority.* Surely that’s worse?

(12/N)
Republicans have appointed 15 of the last 19 justices, despite losing popular vote in 6 of the last 7 elections. 4 current justices were appointed by GOP presidents who took office after losing the popular vote.

A narrow political minority has seized control of the court.
(13/N)
So when McGinley warns of the Supreme Court reflecting “the will of an ascendant political majority,” he does so because he prefers that it reflect the will of a fading political *minority.*

Minority rule is what they’re after. It’s how they keep power. Don’t let them.

(14/14)
PS: here’s a new article about the Trump Justice Department seeking new powers like the ability to ask for indefinite detention without trial during emergencies, in case you’re still wondering if the GOP’s theft of the Supreme Court matters.

politico.com/news/2020/03/2… Image
When you read about Trump’s DOJ seeking “absolutely terrifying” new powers during a time of emergency, also keep in mind that McConnell is running around trying to pressure judges to retire so Trump can appoint their replacements.

Disaster Capitalism, but for authoritarianism. ImageImage
As the DOJ seeks “absolutely terrifying” new powers during a national emergency …
Trump and McConnell are trying to fill the judiciary with more Kavanaughs while everyone is distracted by the deadly pandemic Trump is mishandling. Never let a crisis go to waste. https://t.co/yl6SR2FZNs
Remember when Mitch McConnell took a three day weekend before the Senate had passed an emergency bill to deal with coronavirus/economic collapse so he could fly to Kentucky with Brett Kavanaugh?

Trump just nominated the guy they hung out with to the Court of Appeals. Image
And what are Justin Walker’s qualifications to serve on the Court of Appeals?

He’s 37 years old, has been in his current job for only 5 months (the ABA said he was unqualified for it) … but he did give 162 interviews, 35 on Fox News, defending Brett Kavanaugh. Image
Then there’s the time back in January when McConnell took Walker to the White House to meet with Trump and chat about his impeachment trial.

Wonder what Walker said in that conversation that made Trump want him on the Court of Appeals? Image
I’m sure you’re thinking “Wait a minute: Didn’t McConnell once say judicial nominees shouldn’t be appointed in a presidential election year, so the voters could weigh in?”

Yeah, he’s a liar.

Now he’s pushing judges to retire so Trump can replace them. washingtonpost.com/politics/trump… Image
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